Miser had head for money, generous heart

HAYDEN LAKE – John Harrison wore frayed clothing, used a rubber band to keep his billfold from falling apart, and saved old pie tins and egg cartons.

He also left $3.5 million to family, friends and institutions after he died.

The former golf course superintendent and longtime Hayden Lake city councilman died in April 2005 at age 98.

“A lot of people knew Johnny,” Nancy Morris, his former caregiver and longtime friend, told the Coeur d’Alene Press. “But they didn’t know the man.”

When packing away his belongings, she found bundles of new clothes he had never worn.

How much he left became known after red tape and taxes on his estate were settled. In his will, he included relatives, a few close friends, and various organizations throughout North Idaho.

“He was just a miser with himself,” said Cort L. Wilcox, vice president and financial consultant with D.A. Davidson in Coeur d’Alene. “Nothing ever went to waste. He saved Styrofoam meat containers, old pie tins and egg cartons. He came from the Depression, and he wouldn’t act like he had any money.”

“The day I told him his investments had gone over $3 million, he told me, ‘That’s too much money for one person.’ “

Harrison left $735,000 to the North Idaho College’s nursing program. Individuals named in the will, who wanted to remain anonymous, received from $70,000 to $175,000.

Harrison’s wife, Sadie, was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s when her husband died. Sadie Harrison died within a year of her husband, just a few days short of their 60th wedding anniversary, Morris said.

John Harrison kept track of the financial world, even after moving to an assisted living complex.

“When it came to investing, he was all business,” said Wilcox. “He knew exactly what he wanted and when he got the information, he’d put on his hat, shake my hand and go. He really knew his stuff.”