With a grin as broad as his face and a laugh which filled many a room, Jonathan Harrison was the glue which bonded the countless communities he created throughout his life.
A typical teenage Saturday would find him treading the turf at Penrith Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in the morning before topping up the mud on his rugby boots at Winters Park in the afternoon with a second game for Penrith Colts.
When the sunnier seasons arrived he could be found crouching behind the stumps at Wanderers Cricket Club, offering advice to visiting batsmen.
He generously shared such advice from the terraces of Carlisle United’s Brunton Park home, numerous rugby league grounds and, in later years, from behind the goal at Stamford AFC, with referees, goalkeepers and coaches all reaping the rewards of his critical observations.
His sporting passion was matched by an eclectic love of music, railways and fine ales, of which he was a connoisseur. He played a vast array of instruments within the school orchestra and Penrith Town Band. Jonathan became fascinated with Renaissance wind instruments, blowing lizards, serpents, krumhorns and rauchspfeife until he was red in the face. There was also a dalliance with morris dancing.
His knowledge of railways, kindled on the frigid platforms of Penrith station, became encyclopaedic and was rewarded with a role guiding groups of enthusiasts along the tracks of Europe’s most celebrated lines.
He even managed to combine his enthusiasm for trains with his job as a police officer, riding the rails of the Eurostar while protecting the nation from terrorist threats.
His role working on security and intelligence duties within Special Branch was a closely guarded secret during his lifetime but it is now known that his actions saved the lives of hundreds of people.
Raised by Fred and Jayne Harrison at Carleton Road, Penrith, alongside his younger brother James, Jonathan found his lifelong sweetheart while still at school. He and Katy Ellison, from Hexham, were married at Dacre Church and spent a further 37 happy years together.
Their daughter, Jess, is to marry in July in Kefalonia, the beautiful Greek island which lured the Harrisons to its sunny charms every summer for 20 years.
Jonathan’s departure, at the age of 59, was honoured by the lowering of the Union flag at the Crown pub in Great Casterton and a minute’s applause by players and fellow fans of Stamford AFC.
His passing left a gap on the terraces and in the lives of his family and friends, filled in part by memories of that famous grin and the man behind it.
A funeral service at Grantham crematorium was attended by 140 people, followed by a private burial service at Penrith cemetery, where Jonathan’s ashes were placed alongside those of his father, Fred Harrison.
He remains much loved by his mother Jayne, wife Katy, daughter Jess, brother James, sister-in-law Sue and all family and friends.
