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Graveside services for J. Howard Harrison age 79 of Mobridge will be held 10:00 AM Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at Greenwood Cemetery in Mobridge under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Visitation will begin at 5:00 PM Monday, March 19, 2018 followed by a Prayer Service at 7:00 PM at Kesling Funeral Home. Howard passed away Thursday, March 15, 2018 at the Mobridge Regional Hospital.

After a hard-fought battle with cancer, John Howard Harrison died on March 15, 2018 in Mobridge, SD at the age of 79.

Howard was born on April 27, 1938 in Pierre, SD to Emmons Edgar and Effie Rosalie Harrison and attended most of his elementary and high school years in the Mobridge school system, graduating in 1956. He attended South Dakota State College where he studied agriculture.

A childhood neighbor, Darlene Frances Chamberlin, agreed to marry Howard on January 25, 1960 and they moved to Howard's parent's farm to help with the farming. Shortly thereafter, he was called upon by the National Guard to move to Louisiana subsequent to the Berlin Crisis where he served as a mess sergeant.   A couple of years later they returned to the family farm and ultimately purchased it from his parents.

Howard and Darlene raised three children, John, Michele and Anita, on the farm just south of Mobridge on the west side of the Missouri River. He pushed the limits in new farming techniques as he was one of the first to use no-till farming and self-guided tractors. He was always interested in the newest technologies and he enlisted his engineer son to develop GPS guided systems and start Harrison Ag Technologies.

Howard had many interests. He and Darlene were very active in the American Agriculture Movement, they traveled to Sweden to study the possibilities of bringing an alcohol plant to Mobridge, and he was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church council in 1975. He was named Outstanding Young Farmer and he liked to fly his Cessna 172 to check on his cattle at the VE Grazing Association ranch where he was a partner.

In 2007, after many years of Howard and Darlene managing the large farm by themselves with Darlene doing the planting and Howard the spraying, they decided to sell the farm and move to Mobridge where they built the house of their dreams.

Howard was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers: Edgar, Kenneth, Wallace and Warner. His sister Ruth still lives in Spearfish.

Howard is survived by his wife, Darlene; his three children, John (Brenda), Michele (Darrell Schlepp), and Anita; his grandchildren, Lindsey Harrison, Leah Harrison, Eric (Ahlia) Turner, Alexis Turner, Ashley Turner; and his great grandchild Ellie Turner.