John Whately Harrison "Jack", M.D.

John Whately Harrison, M.D. (Jack) passed away on Feb. 6, 2024 at age 92 at home in Alexandria, VA. He is survived by his former wife and caregiver, Marielle A. Harrison, Edina, MN, daughter Dardi Gomez (Larry), Alexandria, VA, son Evan Scott, Yellow Springs, OH, six grandsons, Aidan and Kaio Gomez, Benjamin, Jeremiah, Ryan, and Kellen Scott. Jack was predeceased by his parents, Lawrence Stanley and Evangeline Shaw Harrison, and two sisters, Betty Jane Hogin and Joann Shaw Harrison.

Jack was born in Glen Ridge, NJ, March 7, 1931, but was raised primarily in Scarsdale, NY. He graduated from Colgate University and New York Medical College, then served as a Captain and General Physician in the US Air Force. He was stationed in Goose Bay, Labrador, and Peru, IN. Jack served as a Dean of Students at NYMC and an Emergency Physician in Upstate New York. He changed career direction graduating from the University of MN/Wilder Child Guidance Center in Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry. He was a gifted healer using puppets to connect with children and gentle wisdom to help his older patients. He was also Director of the Pain Management Clinic at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul.

Jack fell in love with summers on Nantucket Island, MA, as a child, and later vacationed there with family. After practicing in Minnesota, he returned to Cape Cod, MA, to be near his beloved ocean. He practiced in New England, then responded to a call of the desert with the Indian Service Bureau on the Navajo reservation in AZ. He felt an innate connection with the Navajo who called him "White Medicine Man."

Jack retired in 2009, returning to Cape Cod where family joined him for holidays and vacations. He moved to Alexandria in 2015 to live with family. In February 2021, he broke a hip and family called Marielle to help care for him until his death.

A member of the Episcopal Church, Jack always kept his heart close to God. Jack was a true optimist, turning life's challenges into projects to be accomplished and partnerships with God. A lifelong reader and history buff, he perfectly completed the hardest NYT crosswords and was always fascinated in his study of the American Revolution. Jack played piano tenderly and superbly even though he never learned to read music. He learned to play the organ by ear. He took lessons at St. Mark's Cathedral in Minneapolis and was given a key so he could practice there at night. Jack could draw brilliantly, creating delightful artwork full of whimsy and detail. In his youth, he spent summers at Sage Hill Boy Scout Camp with BSA Troop 4 in Jamaica, VT. Under the fatherly guidance of Scoutmaster E. Gordon Smith, Jack earned his Eagle Scout Award which was pinned on him by his mother at a Memorial Day event which, he always noted with awe, "had Civil War veterans from both the North and South!"

We are deeply grieved by the loss of "Gramps." He taught his family so many life lessons, always sharing how much he loved us and how proud he was of our life choices. Truly, he was a brilliant man who experienced much trauma early in life but, through his own gentle nature, positively influenced many lives, enlightening and comforting those around him. He was sensitive, heartfelt, comical, generous, and highly perceptive. Jack will be deeply missed by his loved ones.

We want to thank Dr. Peter Curran, Washington, D.C. VA for the superb and steadfast care he provided Jack.

A graveside service with military honors will be held on Friday, March 8, at 2 pm, at Columbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, VA. Some of Jack's ashes also will be placed near those of his sister, Joann, in the Memorial Garden at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, Alexandria. Friends and family will gather Saturday, March 9, at 2 pm at his daughter's home to celebrate Jack's life. If you so choose, flowers may be sent to Columbia Gardens or his daughter's home.