Jimmy Harrison, Jr.
James Irving "Jimmy" Harrison, Jr., was born on July 11, 1932 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the son of James I. Harrison, Sr. and Elizabeth Doherty Harrison. Jimmy graduated from St. John the Baptist Catholic High School in Tuscaloosa and Baylor Prep School in Chattanooga before accepting a basketball scholarship to the University of Alabama. He went on to Howard College (now Samford University) in 1952 to study pharmacy, graduating with honors.
At Howard College he met Peggy Joyce Thomas, and they were married on May 30, 1954. Peggy was the daughter of Keidell Thomas, a native of Trigg County, Kentucky and Phyllis Rebecca McGee Thomas, a native of Christian County, Kentucky. They became the parents of five children, three sons, James, III, Ronald Patrick and Kei Anthony and two daughters, Rebecca and Cheri.
After college, Jimmy returned to Tuscaloosa to work with his father at the family's Central Drug Store in downtown Tuscaloosa. He later managed their popular new campus location, Druid Drug. In 1967 Jimmy went on to found Harco Drug, which became one of America's most respected business chains with 156 stores in three states. Under his leadership, Harco Drug merged with the Rite Aid Corporation in 1997.
In addition to founding Harco Drugs, Jimmy found Carport, an auto products retailer, which he established in 1983 and grew to 53 stores in Alabama and Mississippi. In 2001 Carport merged with Advance Auto Parts, Inc. Recognized throughout the national retail industry for personal integrity and business savvy, Jimmy received top honors on behalf of Harco and for personal achievement, including Outstanding Small Drug Chain in the U.S. 1996; Retailer of the Decade 1990 and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Sheldon W. Fantle Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
One of the Harrison family's proudest moments took place in January 2015 when Jimmy was honored by the Samford University Athletic Department for holding the highest scoring record in their basketball history – hitting 48 points in a game against Chattanooga on January 6, 1956. That record still stands. Then on April 13, 2019, Samford University honored Jimmy again by inducting him into Samford University Athletics Hall of Fame. The Harrison family's legacy of service and commitment to education have been recognized in many ways, including the establishment of the James I. Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University, named in honor of Jimmy's parents. The Harrison Center for Academic Excellence at Judson College was dedicated in 2001, and the James I. Harrison Family Endowed Teaching Excellence Facility Fellowship at The University of Alabama was established in 1999. Jimmy received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Alabama and Judson College,
After the Rite Aid sale, Jimmy and Peggy devoted even more time to community service and philanthropy. “It already is a difficult adjustment for me. You just can’t do something 47 years intensely and all of a sudden turn the faucet off,” Harrison said in a 1997 interview with The Tuscaloosa News. Jimmy and Peggy founded the James I. Harrison Family Foundation which over the years has contributed to a long list of charitable organizations devoted to families, the arts, education and improving the lives of citizens in western Alabama and beyond. “The philanthropic work from the foundation is probably the best thing the family ever did,” he said in an interview with Tuscaloosa magazine, published in 2017.
Jimmy died in Tuscaloosa on February 24, 2020 at the age of 87. He was buried in the Tuscaloosa Memorial Park cemetery.
LINEAGE: (James Irving Harrison, Jr. was the husband of Peggy Joyce Thomas. Peggy was the daughter of Keidell and Phyllis Rebecca McGee Thomas, granddaughter of Jerome Scott and Rosa Payton Marquess Thomas and great-granddaughter of Winfield Scott and Cassandra Jemima Futrell Thomas and Marion and Mary J. Thomas Marquess. Winfield Scott was the son of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas. Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas. Elizabeth was the sixth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges. Mary J. Thomas was daughter of Peyton and Sarah Ethridge Thomas. Peyton was the third child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas. Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
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