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Memorial Keepers (2)
Medora Ann Harrison
February 15th, 1938 - July 19th, 2025
Ann Harrison, a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loving family, on July 19, 2025. She was 87.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Bill, who died earlier this year. Ann departed this life at Hartland Park Health & Rehabilitation Center in Lexington, Kentucky, where she was attended by family members and clergy in her final hours.
Ann was a member of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Lexington, and had longstanding ties to both Traverse City, Michigan, and Gainesville, Florida, where she and Bill spent many happy years among friends and family.
Over their six decades of marriage, Ann and Bill raised three children, doted on five grandchildren, and built a lifetime of memories. Together they enjoyed countless Gators football games, many motorhome trips across the country, and new friendships wherever they went.
Medora Ann Lewis was born on Feb. 15, 1938 in Freeport, Texas, the daughter of the late Cameron Doy Lewis and Annie Ruth Lewis (née Mitchell). By the age of 12, she and her family moved to Pike County, Mississippi, where they raised chickens on a poultry farm near Magnolia.
As a young teenager, Ann earned pocket money by picking cotton under the hot sun, eventually saving up enough to buy the family’s first television set, a rare novelty in that time and place.
In 1956, she graduated from McComb High School in Mississippi. She later took an administrative job at the University of Florida Teaching Hospital in Gainesville.
There, she met Willard Laurtiz Harrison, better known as Bill, who was working in the hospital’s pharmacy while completing his master’s degree. The happy couple fell in love and were married on Sept. 26, 1964.
In the early years of her marriage, while raising a young family, Ann worked in several fields, including as a secretary and dental technician.
In 1977, she became a Realtor in Gainesville. In the early 1980s, she and three colleagues pooled their savings to purchase a brokerage that was soon renamed ERA Trend Realty.
Ann went on to oversee more than $30 million in real estate transactions in the years that followed, spending at least 10 years as a member of the ERA Multi-Million Dollar Club and joining the ERA “Winners Circle” of the top 100 agents across the national franchise group in 1987.
She served on numerous committees of the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors, and was tireless in caring for her clients and customers, while also making her family—her husband, children, and aging mother—her highest priority.
Ann found great satisfaction in work well-done and took pride in the achievements of her loved ones, ardently supporting her three children in their sports and extracurricular activities and sending them all through college.
Both Ann and Bill were avid sports fans, holding season tickets for Florida Gators football, basketball, baseball and gymnastics for many years. After their son Todd was recruited to play football at North Carolina State University, they also became Wolfpack diehards and attended every game he played from 1988 through 1991, resulting in many motorhome trips around the country.
In 1994, Ann and Bill bought a home on Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan, near the Traverse City homes of Bill’s sister and parents. For the next 25 years, the couple split their time between Florida and Michigan, making the biannual trek in their trusty motorhome. Their bayfront home served as a family gathering place each summer for many years.
In retirement, Ann shared a passion for antiques with her husband, and they sold items at several antique malls in Florida and Michigan. She also doted on her grandchildren, preparing Advent calendars with daily gifts for each child every winter, and taking grandson Owen to MLB spring training games in the Grapefruit League for several years.
In 2019, Ann and Bill moved to Lexington to be closer to their daughter, Dianne, and her family. In Kentucky, she met many new friends and enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren.
Ann is survived by children Dianne Griffith (Mark), Keith Harrison (Robyn), Todd Harrison (Kay), and grandchildren Keith Griffith, Owen Griffith, Annie Griffith, Riley Harrison, and Quinn Harrison. Her husband Bill passed away on Jan. 1, 2025.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Ann’s name to either Hospice of the Bluegrass (bgcarenav.org) or Good Shepherd Episcopal Church (gslex.org).
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. on July 31 at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Lexington. At a later date, Ann and Bill’s ashes will be jointly interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Traverse City, where they may rest together in eternity.
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Clark Legacy Center - Nicholasville
From our stately columns to the finely crafted stone fireplace, full kitchen, and tranquil chapel, Clark Legacy Center in Nicholasville offers a comforting place to honor and remember loved ones. Our dedicated staff can help create a traditional funeral, a patriotic memorial for a veteran, or a life celebration dedicated to your loved one's belief, hobby, or passion....
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