Rex Walter Harrison

Salt Lake City, UT-Rex Harrison, age 89, passed away Monday, June 26, 2023, after a long battle with heart failure.

He was born to Walter and Lucy Harrison in Malad, Idaho, where he spent his early childhood before moving to Pocatello, Idaho.

While attending Idaho State University, he met and married his lovely wife, Ronda Johnson. They began their life together in Pocatello and welcomed two daughters, Linda and Janel. In 1963, they moved to Salt Lake City where he began an award-winning sales career with Brunswig Drug, McKesson Pharmaceuticals and Loftus International.

He cherished his time outdoors, whether sitting in his backyard, fishing quiet streams, hiking Alaskan mountain paths, or hunting upland game birds with his beloved English pointers. Rex loved to tell a good story laced with humorous and insightful figures of speech that could make you laugh or cry. He had the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, and his kind disposition and generous nature made people feel important and cared for. He had a special way with babies and small children, stopping tears, starting laughs and offering comfort. Above all, he loved his family and relished time spent together. He appreciated a good meal with nice wine. Later in life he developed a great appreciation for sushi and sake, even becoming quite adept with chopsticks. He was a longtime member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church where he and Ronda devoted months to creating a beautiful church garden.

A private family service will be held in July. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his name to the Garden Fund at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1070 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, (www.zelc.org) or to Red Butte Garden (www.redbuttegarden.org).

Our family would like to express deep appreciation for the care and kindness shown by Quality Home Health and Hospice, especially to Tamara and Lily.

Rex was preceded in death by his parents Walter and Lucy Harrison and sister, Betty Young (Del).

He is survived by his wife, Ronda; daughters, Linda Crumley (Randy) and Janel Trapp (Mikel); sister, Susan Harrison; six grandchildren, Jenny, Sarah, Ben, Olivia, Ryan and Gwen; and two great grandchildren, Hadley and Nicholas.