John L. Harrison remembered for law, school and civic service
St. Mark’s, Forest Park and Crystal Falls Rotary all felt John L. Harrison’s steady hand. His law, school and church work shaped daily life in Iron County for decades.
At St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, at Forest Park schools and in the work of Crystal Falls Rotary, John L. Harrison left behind a civic footprint that reached far beyond his title. In a town where the school board, the church pews and the local service club still shape daily life, Harrison was one of the people who kept those institutions moving.
Harrison, 72, died Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at Casa de la Luz Hospice in Tucson, Arizona, after suffering a stroke earlier in the month. He was born Aug. 1, 1953, in Crystal Falls, graduated from Forest Park High School in 1972 and went on to earn a degree from Michigan State University in 1976 and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1981.
His legal work touched Iron County families for more than four decades, especially through elder law. Harrison helped clients with end-of-life planning and related matters, attended conferences in different cities to stay current in his field and facilitated elder-law seminars for Michigan’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education. Early in his career, he also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Iron County, putting his name to the county justice system as well as its private legal needs.
In Crystal Falls, his public service stretched into education and civic life. Harrison served as president of the Forest Park School Board, chaired the local V-J Day Committee and was secretary of the Crystal Falls Rotary Club. Those roles placed him in the middle of the kind of behind-the-scenes work that keeps a small community organized, from school governance to remembrance events and service projects.
Church remained central to Harrison’s life. A cradle Episcopalian, he served as a Eucharistic minister, worship leader and acolyte, and he was elected to the Vestry at age 16. His family said his leadership continued as long as illness allowed, and he stayed involved with Forest Park class reunion planning while he could.
Harrison met Janice “Jan” Bickle at Michigan State, and they married on Aug. 26, 1978. They later divorced and remarried on Oct. 20, 2023. He is survived by Jan, their daughter, son, grandsons, siblings and extended family. Burial was planned for Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Crystal Falls, and the family suggested memorials to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crystal Falls or Friends of Camp Batawagama.
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