Thomas Smith Harrison Jr.,95, of Walterboro, SC, passed away July 6, 2021. A service will be held at 1:00 PM, July 10, 2021, at Dukes-Harley Funeral Home, with Rev. Ryan Tucker officiating. Burial will follow in Sunnyside Cemetery. The family will receive friends at 12:00 PM prior to service. Mr. Harrison was born to Thomas Smith Harrison, a mechanic, and his wife Marion Drinkard Harrison. The middle child of 5, Thomas Smith Harrison Jr. moved to SC with his family when he was 7 years old and spent his early childhood primarily in Greenwood, SC. In 1943 the family moved to Orangeburg when Thomas was a junior in high school. There, he met his future wife and, in March of 1944, volunteered into the Air Force to serve in World War II. He served 26 months as a gunner in the South Pacific with the 13th Air Force, 42nd Bomb Group. When he returned from the service in 1946, his family was again living in Greenwood; and he attended Lander College there for one year. In 1947, he moved back to Orangeburg and began working at Orangeburg Insurance Agency, where he worked for 43-1/2 years until he retired in 1990. In June of 1948 he married the love of his life, Jean Fair Harrison, daughter of former Mayor S.C. Fair and Mildred Lide Fair. Together they had four children: Linda, born in 1950; Beth, born in 1951; Tommy, born in 1954; and Mary Anne, born in 1965. Thomas lived his life in service to his fellow man, and South Carolina, especially Orangeburg, became a joyful recipient of that service. During his years he variously served as a member of a group to establish a United Way in Orangeburg, and then as its Director; 15 years as Director of the Salvation Army; Director of the Junior Chamber of Commerce; Director of the Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce and President in 1965; American Legion Post 4 Commander; S.C. Chamber of Commerce, Director; Deacon at First Baptist Church of Orangeburg, and also a time as Trustee there; 25 years as Co-Founder, Director and Secretary of Wade Hampton Academy; Director of Orangeburg Preparatory School; Member and 2-year Interim Manager of Orangeburg Country Club; twice President of Orangeburg Lions Club, presented recently with Life Membership after 70 years in the Club; Director and Treasurer of People Against Crime; 10-year Director of S.C. Victims Assistance Network (SCVAN) and 3-year President of that organization; member of the Policy Committee of the Division of Victim Assistance (DOVA), a division of the S.C. Governor's office. In later years he served as a member of the Attorney General's Victimization Task Force and a member of Attorney General Condon's Victim's Bill Of Rights Task Force; an Advisory Board Member of the State Office of Victim Assistance, and a Commissioner for the Orangeburg- Calhoun Detention Center. He was chosen "Citizen of the Year" by the Kiwanis Club of Orangeburg, SC in 1997 and honored by the Orangeburg Lions Club as a "Melvin Jones Fellow." He was awarded the State's highest Civilian honor, The Order of the Palmetto, in 2005 by Governor Mark Sanford. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Orangeburg, the Orangeburg Lions Club, and AmericanLegion Post 4 of Orangeburg. He was a member, Past President and Director of the Senior Golf Circuit, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Samaritan House. He excelled at everything he did and over his lifetime had enjoyed participating in many areas from ping-pong at the Edisto River Pavilion to shooting pool to golfing, fishing, dove and skeet shooting. He enjoyed swimming and had served as a lifeguard in Greenwood at age 12 for the local pool. He also enjoyed woodworking in his shop and could often be found there 'piddling" around making things that he donated to others like cabinets for the FLC, Noah's Ark boats for VBS, a Lazy-Susan that Jean needed, a bookcase for daughter, Beth, and a special canning cabinet for daughter, Linda, and many times the workshop would become a place of fellowshipping with friends as they worked together. He was predeceased by his wife of 72 years, Jean Fair Harrison, and his son Thomas Clyde Harrison of the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. He is survived by his three daughters, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, one great-great granddaughter, and several nieces and nephews. © 2010-21 Dukes-Harley Funeral Home and Crematory