 |
Harrison L. Church Lebanon, IL QCWA # 15269 |
Former longtime Lebanon advertiser editor Harrison Leon Church finished printing at the age of 78, on November 8, 2019. He succumbed to heart disease and old age.
He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Harriet Lois Church, nee Feddersen, whom he married on October 27, 1988, in Lebanon. She is a native of South St. Louis, Missouri, then Blackjack, Missouri, and finally Florissant, Missouri from 1960 . 1988. At their marriage, she had been evening suupervisor of nursing at Dr. Andrew Signorelli's Faith Family Hospital in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
Mr. Church is also survived by two cousins: Beverly "BA" (Dennis) Church-Pabich of Chicago and Lee David (Ruth) Saegesser of Florida, and the latter's three daughters and their families; his brother-in-law and his wife, Dale and Ruth Feddersen of Florissant, Missouri; sister-in-law and her husband, Kathy and Charlie "Hank" Grubbs of St. Louis County, Missouri and two informally adopted sisters: Janice DeLaney of Points West and Donna Sledge Cohen (husband, Clarence and their daughter Jasmine Samantha) of North Charleston, South Carolina.
Harrison was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leon Harry (Helen, nee Saegesser) Church of Lebanon. She is a native of Granite City, Illinois; his parents-in-law, Arthur and Dorris Feddersen of the St. Louis metropolitan area; uncle Samuel Saegesser and wife Virginia of Virginia, (D.C. suburbs), uncles Emil and Calvin Saegesser who died in youth; aunts Ruby and Elsie and uncle Leroy Church, all of whom died at young ages; aunt Ruth V. Taylor, uncle Virgil Thomas Church and his wife, Frances, nee Logan, of Lebanon and their son, Bruce Logan Church; and brothers-in-law, Robert and Donald (Carol) Feddersen, and brother-in-law and his wife Dale and Ruth Feddersen.
Highlights of Mr. Church's life include the following: Never an athlete as was his father, Harrison did play some tennis and, with his partner, won the University of Illinois PE department doubles tennis tournament one year. Always deathly afraid of water, he had to forcibly overcome that phobia in order to become an Eagle Scout, which required the lifesaving merit badge. For years he never entered the water except to practice for some such requirement. That took him through the course of Red Cross water ratings, Junior and Senior Lifesaving and eventually become certified as a water safety instructor . still fearful of water!