Richard Benjamin Harrison

 At the age of 17 years old, Harrison attended a barn dance, where he met his wife of the future, Joanne Rhue, the daughter of Joseph Rhue, a county judge, who later became one of the leading lawyers for Philip Morris in North Carolina.They were married in 1960. Harrison stole a car prior to when they got married. After being arrested and sentenced to prison, he was offered the option of either going to prison, or to the military. Harrison took the former option, entering the United States Navy in October 1958. Joanne became pregnant right after their wedding. The first baby, Sherry, was born with Down syndrome. Their other three sons included Rick, Chris, and Joseph. Harrison quit the Navy on February 12, 1962. He rejoined 14 months later in order to be able to claim the health benefits that Sherry was unable to pay medical expenses. She died at six years old. Harrison was a member of the U.S. Navy for twenty years. He was a paymaster, and later rose to the rank of first class petty officers. From 1972 to 1976, Harrison served on four ships. His final five years were spent on the tug of the fleet USS Chowanoc, (ATF-100). In 1967, Harrison was transferred to San Diego by the Navy. Joanne received her real estate license in 1970 and then established her own business in 1973. Harrison was in the Navy for another year. After Harrison was released from the Navy in 1979, he worked part-time in his wife's office. The decline in real estate sales due to interest rates of up to 18 percent cost Harrison $1,000,000, which led to the collapse of this business in 1981