Harrison, Robert

HARRISON, Pegram

Robert Pegram Harrison was born January 4th 1934 and died July 5th 2022, peacefully at home with his family. A most beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, son, and friend to very many people all over the world, he was a lawyer, businessman, pilot, sailor, bird-watcher, reader, writer, scholar, raconteur, lover of nature and the arts, and an exceptionally kind and generous man. He will be deeply missed, and remembered with joy.

Pegram lived most of his life in Atlanta where his family has had roots for many generations. He was keenly engaged in family history, especially the naval career of his ancestor, Captain Robert Baker Pegram (1811-1894), beneath whose portrait Pegram died; and of his father DeSales Harrison (1901-1973), an executive with the Coca Cola company. The history of the South, with its mix of hostility and hospitality, fascinated him and informed the values he lived by—be gracious, include everyone, stay curious, listen carefully, fight injustice, express wonder, praise beauty, love family and friends.

The institutions that shaped him include E Rivers School in Atlanta, Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, Washington and Lee University (BA, 1954), Harvard Law School (JD, 1960), and Dartmouth College (MA, 1994). He served in the Navy as executive officer and navigator of the minesweeper USS Albatross (1955-1957), stationed in Key West and Cuba. He practiced law with several prominent firms in New York and Atlanta, and as a public defender. As a broadcasting entrepreneur, he owned several radio stations and towers in the South. He served the public as a leading figure in the early expansion of Hartsfield Airport, and in numerous organizations enhancing civic life in Atlanta.

He was equally at home in other communities, including Wrightsville Beach NC, and most notably, Islesboro ME, a home of over 30 years with many friends and family. He loved island life, with its quiet dramas, dynastic intricacy, abundant wildlife, exhilarating weather, and unparalleled beauty.

His large immediate family now consists of his beloved wife of over 50 years, Ann May Harrison, and his sister Nancy Knight Lattimore (husband Keith) of Atlanta. His sons are Legare Comer Jennings III (wife Donna) of Atlanta, Robert Baker Pegram Harrison (husband Anthony Evans-Pughe) of London, UK, and DeSales Harrison III (wife Claire Solomon) of Oberlin, OH; he grieved for the loss of his son Benjamin May Jennings to ALS on 22 May 2021. Throughout life, Pegram remained close friends with his former wife Alice Corr Rogers, of Camden, ME. He is also survived by his grandsons in Atlanta: Legare Comer Jennings IV, James May Jennings (Jack), Samuel Legare Jennings (Sam), Benjamin May Jennings Jr., and by their mother, Dorsey Waldron Mann (husband Robert Thomas Mann); by his grandsons Ethan Godchaux Harrison-Weil in Dallas, Thomas Thacher Harrison and Archibald Houston Harrison in New York; and by his only grand-daughter Phoebe Augustine Harrison in Oberlin. Pegram's young grandson William Reynolds Jennings died tragically in an accident three weeks before his own death, an additional burden of grief for family and friends. Those who remain give thanks for the love that binds them together.

Pegram will be remembered for his all-encompassing sense of humor. With it, he took tragedy and challenge in his stride, and helped others to move forward too. He had a tale for every occasion and could talk to anyone about anything. He made friends wherever he went and loved fantasizing about moving to the exotic places he so loved to explore. He was an energetic, constant, intellectual reader. He loved food and drink with gusto (and, equally, loathed carrots and peas). He sang with fervor, if little respect for the tune, and was a maestro at conducting the radio. His joie-de-vivre was always infectious: whether riding waves, driving cars, flying single-engine planes, sailing transatlantic yachts, or even sitting at a dinner table, being with Pegram was exhilarating. Everyone absorbed into his wide network of family and friends became part of the rich adventure of his life and spirit. As long as anyone remembers him, his vitality will remain inextinguishable.

After a year of grievous losses, the family will wait several months before celebrating Pegram's life in the autumn. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Islesboro Community Fund (www.islesborocommunityfund.org) supporting a community Pegram loved, or to FACT Relief (www.factrelief.org) supporting families coping with health crises.

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