John Calvin Harrison, 90, a longtime member of the Duluth-
Superior Maritime Club, passed away on May 28 at St. Luke's
Hospital in Duluth.
Harrison was born in Duluth to Calvin and Leila Harrison
on March 21, 1934, the first day of spring. He attended Den-
feld High School and graduated in 1952. He then served in the
United States Army National Guard from 1953-1956, special-
izing in radio repair. He worked at Duluth's KDLH-TV from
1961 to 1990 and retired as the assistant chief engineer. He
also founded Harrison Marine Electronics in 1961 and con-
tinued working as a marine electrician up into his 80s. He
survived a harrowing journey on the U.S. Coast Guard cutter
Mesquite when it ran aground off the coast of the Keweenaw
Peninsula while servicing a buoy on Dec. 4, 1989. The incident
is said to be the most recent shipwreck on Lake Superior.
Harrison was a proud member of the Duluth Power Squad-
ron for 66 years, serving as commander in 1974, and earning
45 merit marks. He was
buried in his official
squadron uniform. His
father, Calvin, was one
of the charter members
of the Duluth Power
Squadron in 1939.
Harrison and his wife,
Dorothy, a nurse at St.
Mary's Hospital, raised
four children on Dulu-
th's Park Point. Sum-
mertime was spent on
the beach and the water,
often in his 32-foot
cabin cruiser Jimi-John.
Harrison was pre-
ceded in death by his
wife, who passed away
in April 2023, and he is
survived by his children:
James Harrison, Diane
(Michael) Podgornik,
J o a n n e ( M i c h a e l )
Hillestad, and Jeffery Harrison; and grandsons Lucas Grell,
Ryan Hillestad, Nicholas Hillestad, and Johnathan Grell.
PORT PASSINGS
DULUTHPORT.COM |
11
Harrison
was a proud
member of the
Duluth Power
Squadron
for 66 years,
serving as
commander
in 1974, and
earning 45
merit marks.
John Calvin
Harrison
PHOTO / Ma Silverness
