Obituary of John Harrison

HARRISON, John "Harry" - 72, of Herndon, Virginia passed Wednesday, July 29, 2015. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Gertrude Harrison. He is survived by his sister, Patricia, his brother Tommy, his nieces, Pilar and Nena, and his nephews, Javier, Mark, Richard, and Daniel. The family will receive friends Friday, August 7, 2015 from 5:00 pm until services at 7:00 pm at Adams-Green Funeral Home in Herndon, Va. The officiant will be Father Bob Mancini of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Reston, Va. John will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) in keeping with his military service and love of his country. The date and time of the service and internment is to be announced after scheduling by ANC personnel. We are all at a loss at the sudden passing of our dear friend and we will forever remember "Harry" as a true friend who retained his good humor and ceaseless caring concern for all who had the privilege of knowing him. John's passing will leave a void in everyone's life that cherished his friendship and we will miss his engaging and genuine smiles always at the ready, along with that sparkle and twinkle in his eye. Harry was an incredible person; he was kind, generous and caring. He was the kind of person to put you first and him second. Harry's passions were sports, especially football as a devoted New York Giant's fan, and he was an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction. At his home, the SYFY channel was always on. Harry's life was filled with the love and support of his neighbors, friends and family. He lived in the Fox Mill community for 29 years where everyone knew his name and knew that they could come to him for either advice or to borrow tools. He loved his friends, family and neighbors more than anything in the world and truly even more than he loved the New York Giants. Furthermore, "Harry" was a great friend and neighbor to George and Judy Robertson [now residents of Utah] and a dear personal friend to John and Sarah Kiely and; especially to Daniel Kiely, his God Son, and to his departed brother Matthew Kiely. They considered "Uncle Harry" a member of their own immediate family and a very special person who was always there for them. "Uncle Harry" actively participated with John and Sarah in raising their boys, routinely dispensed encouragement, and provided equal doses of "Grandfatherly Guidance" over the years. John was born in West Orange, New Jersey in 1943 and enlisted in the US Air Force as a teenager and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant while having served his country, during the Vietnam conflict, for over 10 years. After an honorable discharge, John held technical positions with Western Union GSD, GTE-Telenet, and NetExpress working on leading-edge data communication products, protocols and messaging. In 1988, John took a senior-level management position with the Veterans Administration (VA) where he managed the VA hospital's transport networks and it's providers. From the VA, John went on to work for the General Services Administration (GSA). John's military career and government service were both marked by his exemplary performance, numerous awards, and expertise in the growing field of data communications, especially as the federal agencies and US Government entered the Internet Age. After retiring from the government, in 2001, John joined Government Telecommunications Inc. (GTI) and fully retired a few years later to enjoy his many circles of good friends (i.e. Starbucks, Pinecrest, Hunan East, Jimmy's, GSA & VA Alumni) In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to the Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org), the Wounded Warrior Project, (http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org) or So Others Might Eat (http://www.some.org). He made many generous donations to many charities over the years and this would be a wonderful tribute. He is at peace now and will be dearly missed by everyone and anyone who knew him.