Mary Harrison
May 29, 1929 - March 29, 2025

Mary Amson (Abrahamson) Harrison, age 95, died peacefully at her home in Aspinwall, PA. A refugee from the Holocaust, she arrived in Pittsburgh in 1939 at the age of ten from Germany, with her mother, Tola Amson, and older sister, Lilly Ruth Amson. Her father, Robert Amson, had arrived in the United States a year before.  Despite the hardships of war, she maintained close ties to family in her native land and the city of Hamburg, Germany, a cherished tradition that her children and grandchildren have maintained.

Mary built a life centered around family. She was married for over 50 years to the late Roland Harrison, who predeceased her in 2004. She was a lifelong advocate for the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children and a champion of disadvantaged minorities. She worked with emotionally challenged children at Camp Deer Creek of Indianola, PA. And in the late 1960s, she worked on the Oral History Project of the National Council of Jewish Women. 

She was the beloved mother of Ross (Mahnaz) Harrison, Lee (Cindy) Harrison, and Leslie (Greg Roody) Harrison. She is also survived by her nephew Gary (Krista) Kanel, and grandchildren: Arash (Ashley) Arabasadi, Jason (Amy) Funk, Samantha Miller, Hermine Harrison (Martin) Höcker, Harrison, Nicole, and Dylan Roody, Jonathan (Tara) Harrison, and Rachael Harrison. She is also survived by great grandchildren: Shane, Landon, and Addison Funk, Anni and Levi Höcker, and Amsen and Lulu Arabasadi.

Services at Rodef Shalom Temple, 4905 Fifth Avenue (at Morewood), Oakland, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 11 AM. Visitation one hour prior to service at temple (10 AM - 11 AM). Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation, where Mary will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband, Roland.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mary's memory to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), continuing her lifelong commitment to justice and human rights, and/or the church of Pat Hickman, one of several of her loving caregivers: Manna From On High Ministries, 416 Franklin Street, East Pittsburgh, 15112. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. www.schugar.com