Sharkey Montgomery Harrison, 77

Sharkey Montgomery Harrison, 77 of Frenchtown, lost his two-year battle with esophageal cancer on April 5, at Community Medical Center. He was born in Billings, Montana on Nov. 30, 1940 to Jenny Orazem and Sharkey Willis Harrison. He was raised in Idaho where he was an Eagle Scout and Salutatorian of his 1959 class of Mullan High School. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Idaho in 1964. He married Janet Russell of Wallace soon after and accepted a job with Shell Chemical Company in Torrance, California. A son, Scott Steve, and a daughter, Karin Rae, were born there. Shell moved the family to Mahwah, New Jersey in the mid sixties, then to Houston, Texas in 1969. Sharkey was a project manager in various chemical plants and chemical companies including John Brown, Litwin, Crawford and Russell, and ABB Lummis Global. His jobs took him on some interesting trips to South America, Indonesia and Europe, including a memorable visit to his mother’s ancestral home in Yugoslavia where he was able to reconnect with relatives in Ljubljana. In the early 2000’s he worked briefly in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state before retirement to Frenchtown, Montana in 2002.

He was avid about many hobbies over the years: bowling, tennis, fishing, MG Car Club rallies, antique auctions and sailing on Galveston Bay to name a few. He served as treasurer of the Twin Lakes Homeowners Association and was a director of Frenchtown Seniors. He also was a member of Hellgate Elks, a life member of NRA and life member of RMEF. He enjoyed his computers and had a huge collection of science fiction books. He especially enjoyed Dock Dogs with his beloved Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

He is survived by his wife, Janet Russell Harrison, son Scott of Houston, Texas, daughter Karin of Bluff City, Tennessee and his sister Charlene Carlson of Beaverton, Oregon. At his request, no service will be held. A private scattering of his ashes will occur later.