Wilson Stewart Harrison, veteran, retired educator
Wilson Stewart “Stu” Harrison of Rehoboth Beach passed away Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, after a brief illness. Stu was born in 1932 in Claiborne, Md., and grew up in St. Michaels, Md., with his parents Wilson and Virginia Harrison.
Stu graduated from St. Michaels Junior/Senior High School in 1948 and entered Salisbury State Teachers College. It was in college, pursuing a degree in education, that he met his future wife, Nancy Jane Thompson, of Wilmington. After college, he served as a Morse code expert and trainer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Upon his discharge, he returned to St. Michaels with his first son, Thomas, and took a math/science teaching position at Easton High School. The family moved to Easton, where his second son, Greg, was born. Stu and his family left Easton and moved to Newark, where he took a position teaching physics and math at Mt. Pleasant Senior High School outside Wilmington. During this time, he obtained a master’s degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania. His daughter, Suzanne, came along while they lived in Newark. In 1965, Stu accepted the position of assistant principal at Mt. Pleasant Junior High School, which at the time was the largest junior high school in the state.
The family moved to Wilmington so Stu could be closer to his work. Taking his education further, Stu completed coursework for an Ed.D. degree from New York University. In the late 1970s, he was assigned by Judge Murray Schwartz to the New Castle County Desegregation Board and was a part of the team that attempted to solve the segregation problem in New Castle County schools. When the board was dissolved, Stu went to work at the Data Service Center, where he served until his retirement. Upon retirement, he and his wife, Nancy, moved to Rehoboth Beach, where they could enjoy relaxation, travel, gardening, home improvement projects, and his love of surf fishing for blues.
Stu was predeceased by his wife Nancy in 2008; and his daughter Suzanne in 2021. His son Greg is estranged from the family. Stu is survived by his son, Thomas (Katie Shaulis) of Wilmington; his three grandchildren: James Harrison (Koryn Mocko), Caitlin Harrison and Cerise Smith; and his three great-grandchildren: Samara, Alyssa and Kayson.
A chapel committal service will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, March 16, at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 26669 Patriots Way, Millsboro.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Stu's memory to the American Cancer Society, cancer.org/involved/donate.html; or a charity of choice.
Arrangements for Stu have been entrusted to Parsell Funeral Homes, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.
Visit Stu's Life Memorial webpage and sign his virtual guestbook at parsellfuneralhomes.com.
