Nancy Harrison

Nancy Rogers Harrison passed away peacefully Monday, August 17, 2026 after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease. She lasted longer with the illness than most and was known to her family as the “Energizer Bunny” because she didn’t stop going until the end. She lived with grace and did not let Parkinson’s stop her from living a joyful life. Nancy was preceded in death by her parents Joseph Pointer Rogers and Ruth Sears Rogers.

Nancy grew up in rural Person County North Carolina in the Leas Chapel Community where she attended Roxboro High School. She left Person County first to attend Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC where she earned her RN degree. Thereafter Nancy worked in Philadelphia for a year at Hospital of U Penn before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC to earn her BS in nursing. It was there she met Woody and later got married in 1967. Along with their newborn baby, Nancy followed Woody’s Navy ship around the Mediterranean and later found nursing jobs in their time in Pensacola, FL, Denver, CO and Coronado, CA. Her daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1969 and had her first birthday in Cannes, France. After working as an ER nurse in California, Woody and Nancy eventually moved to Wilson in 1972 where their son, Reggie was born. In Wilson, Nancy helped the local hospital initiate the Cardiac Rehab Program, taught nursing at Wilson Community College and obtained her Masters in nursing at East Carolina. Later Nancy worked with AREA L AHEC in Rocky Mount in continuing education for nurses until her retirement around 2005. She loved being a nurse, her patients, her students and her co-workers. Nursing was very much a part of her life and brought her joy.

Any day of the week, she could win a card game. Nancy loved to read and travel, play board games and any kind of cards. Throughout her adult life she enjoyed playing bridge with her friends. Nancy also enjoyed her tennis group, her book club, her Circle at the Methodist Church and the members of the Hardison Discussion Sunday School Class. Traveling had become second nature after the Navy years and continued during Woody’s reserve duty years with trips to Spain, England, Portugal and to Japan with Elizabeth with the Friendship Force group. She enjoyed attending World Cup matches in France and Germany as well as watching Woody, Reggie, Elizabeth, and her grandchildren all play soccer.

Throughout her life Nancy was devoted to her family. She will be lovingly remembered by Reginald Woodrow Harrison, Jr. (“Woody”) her beloved husband of 59 years, her children, Elizabeth Rogers Harrison and Reginald Woodrow Harrison III (“Reggie”), daughter-in-law, Jennifer Harrison, and her five amazing grandchildren: Rogers Katherine Propst, Harrison Gray Propst, Ridley Rian Harrison, Leanne Loulie Harrison and Eloise Elizabeth Harrison. Nancy is also survived by her sister, Joann Rogers Wrenn of Stovall, NC.

Nancy’s family is especially grateful for the loving care and support provided by many friends, her in-home caregivers over the years, Wilson Rehab and Nursing Center (“WilMed”), and Hospice of Wilson.

A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church, 100 Green Street in Wilson, NC at 11:00 am on Friday, August 21, 2026, with a visitation with family immediately following the service in Asbury Hall at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to go to First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1423, Wilson, NC 27894, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, give.michaeljfox.org or the charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements by Wilson Memorial Service, 2811 Fieldstream Dr N, Wilson, (252) 237-7171; www.wilsonmemorialservice.com