Douglas
Douglas Edwin Harrison
Douglas Edwin Harrison
, 82, of Phoenix, Arizona, passed away peacefully on February 3, 2020. He was predeceased by his parents Joseph and Pearl Harrison and his brother Donald Harrison. He is survived by Anthea (née Lawrence), his loving wife of 57 years, his son Andrew (Sheri), daughter Karen (David) and grandchildren Lindsey and Jack. Doug was born on June 20, 1937 in Toronto, Canada. During his childhood, he spent many summers helping on his grandparent’s farm. He was also very involved in the Boy Scouts program where he achieved his Queen’s
Scout Award. His entrepreneurialinstincts began to develop when he started his paper route. Eventually, he was delivering more than 250 newspapers daily with the help of other kids he “hired”.
Doug was a graduate of Leaside High School and then studied at Ryerson University. Doug met Anthea while both of them were members of the choir at Forest Grove United Church in Bayview Village, Toronto. They were married in the church in 1962.
His first REAL job was as manager of a Beneficial Finance office. However, a position with Avis Rent-a-Car in Toronto caught his eye. While there, he was instrumental in implementing changes that were later adopted nation-wide. Next came a chance to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma to work for Thrifty Car Rental. Soon an opportunity to have his own franchise in Vancouver, BC arose and he and Anthea spent a couple of years back in Canada. Later, he was enticed to return to the Thrifty head office in Tulsa. As a marketing executive, he travelled worldwide on behalf of the company. During this era, Doug introduced non-smoking cars. A highlight of his career was in 1975 when he, along with 21 other executives, was invited to the White House to meet with President Ford. As a busy executive in the travel industry, Doug and Anthea had many opportunities to travel and they inaugurated many new cruise ships over the years. After 30 successful years with Thrifty, Doug joined a travel consortium based in Dallas, Texas where he applied his expertise to grow their travel sales. Before moving to Arizona, Doug and Anthea spent several delightful years in Kansas City where Doug was an independent consultant. But a desire to be closer to son Andrew and his family drew them to Phoenix. Doug was a very positive, hardworking individual. He never met a challenge he couldn’t conquer! Many thanks to Neighbours Who Care who provided wonderful home care for Doug and support for Anthea.
A celebration of life was held on February 22, 2020 at Sun Lakes United Methodist Church in the Phoenix area. Donations in Doug’s memory may be made to Neighbors Who Care, 10450 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, AZ USA 85248. Condolences to www.buelermortuary.com
, 82, of Phoenix, Arizona, passed away peacefully on February 3, 2020. He was predeceased by his parents Joseph and Pearl Harrison and his brother Donald Harrison. He is survived by Anthea (née Lawrence), his loving wife of 57 years, his son Andrew (Sheri), daughter Karen (David) and grandchildren Lindsey and Jack. Doug was born on June 20, 1937 in Toronto, Canada. During his childhood, he spent many summers helping on his grandparent’s farm. He was also very involved in the Boy Scouts program where he achieved his Queen’s
Scout Award. His entrepreneurialinstincts began to develop when he started his paper route. Eventually, he was delivering more than 250 newspapers daily with the help of other kids he “hired”.
Doug was a graduate of Leaside High School and then studied at Ryerson University. Doug met Anthea while both of them were members of the choir at Forest Grove United Church in Bayview Village, Toronto. They were married in the church in 1962.
His first REAL job was as manager of a Beneficial Finance office. However, a position with Avis Rent-a-Car in Toronto caught his eye. While there, he was instrumental in implementing changes that were later adopted nation-wide. Next came a chance to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma to work for Thrifty Car Rental. Soon an opportunity to have his own franchise in Vancouver, BC arose and he and Anthea spent a couple of years back in Canada. Later, he was enticed to return to the Thrifty head office in Tulsa. As a marketing executive, he travelled worldwide on behalf of the company. During this era, Doug introduced non-smoking cars. A highlight of his career was in 1975 when he, along with 21 other executives, was invited to the White House to meet with President Ford. As a busy executive in the travel industry, Doug and Anthea had many opportunities to travel and they inaugurated many new cruise ships over the years. After 30 successful years with Thrifty, Doug joined a travel consortium based in Dallas, Texas where he applied his expertise to grow their travel sales. Before moving to Arizona, Doug and Anthea spent several delightful years in Kansas City where Doug was an independent consultant. But a desire to be closer to son Andrew and his family drew them to Phoenix. Doug was a very positive, hardworking individual. He never met a challenge he couldn’t conquer! Many thanks to Neighbours Who Care who provided wonderful home care for Doug and support for Anthea.
A celebration of life was held on February 22, 2020 at Sun Lakes United Methodist Church in the Phoenix area. Donations in Doug’s memory may be made to Neighbors Who Care, 10450 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, AZ USA 85248. Condolences to www.buelermortuary.com
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