Thomas Harrison

Tom was born in Louviers, CO which was a DuPont Company town. Tom’s father, grandfather and uncles all worked at “The Plant” making dynamite which would be used for many projects including blasting the interstate throughout the west including the I70 tunnels.  He graduated from Douglas County High, volunteered for the Air Force and in 1970 was stationed at Wainwright AFB in Fairbanks Alaska where he worked as a Crew Chief on the B52 Bomber.  This assignment changed Tom’s life.  After his discharge, he returned to Alaska to live for 38 years.  Tom worked as a seismograph driller looking for oil on the north slope, taxi cab driver, laborer on the pipeline, truck driver and manager for AmeriGas Propane, the owner/manager of Higher Grounds coffee shops and a Real Estate agent.  He met the love of his life, Debbie Kelly, in 1980, they married in 1981 and led an adventuresome life in Wasilla where they raised 2 children, coached Little League baseball and provided a Safe Haven for lost teens.  Tom took teens into his home, gave them a job at his coffee shops, took them to church on Sunday and encouraged them to join the youth group and JROTC program at High School. Tom served as the Prayer & Care Elder at First Presbyterian Church in Wasilla.

Tom and Debbie moved to Grand Junction CO in 2008 to care for his aging parents and opened Visiting Angels Living Assistance.  Tom was the bright spot in the day for his clients, employees and business associates.  He was always cheerful and brought a ray of happiness into their day.  Tom was an active community volunteer serving as President of Mesa County Counsel on Aging, A Delegate to Region II Counsel on Aging, Voting Delegate to Region II Grant Review Committee and delivering Gray Gourmet meals.

Tom’s absence will leave a gap in the community he served and his family which he loved.  His legacy lives on in the lives of the many young people he influenced.