Hollister Summers Harrison

Hollister Summers Harrison, aged 93, completed his earthly journey on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. He was preceded in death by his wife Eleanor Jacqueline “Jackie” (Croston) Harrison and is survived by his three children: Jeannine “Jennie” Harrison Powell of Jacksonville, FL, David Summers Harrison of Nashville, TN and Laura Hollister Suzanne Harrison of Franklin, TN. He is grandfather to three boys - Nicholas Harrison (Dave & GiGi Rose), Jack and Sam Harrison (Dave & Heather Harrison) and two girls - Rachel Harrison Mackey and Margot Powell, (Jennie) as well as three great-grandchildren, Lucas, James, and Norah Mackey, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Hollister was born December 28, 1932 in Fenwick, WV to James Ranson Harrison and Flossie Roxana (Hollister) Harrison. Hollister was their last surviving child, having said farewell earlier in his life to his three sisters, Esther Leah (Harrison) Ashby, Ernestine (Harrison) Harris, and Elizabeth Ann (Harrison) Smith.

Hollister (known as Summers to his family and friends) was an avid scholar and lifelong learner. In the eighth grade, he won the prestigious Golden Horseshoe Award for West Virginia studies. He played several instruments in high school and enrolled in the School of Music at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown, WV, where he met his wife, Jackie. While there, he began his studies in medical school. At that time, WVU only offered a two-year medical program, so he finished his Bachelor of Science in Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia.

Hollister commissioned in the WV Army National Guard Medical Corp in 1958. He was ordered to active duty during the Berlin Crisis in 1961. After he completed his residency in pediatrics at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, CA from 1962-1963, he then took his family to his next assignment as Chief of Pediatrics at the U.S. Army hospital at Augsburg, Germany from 1964-1967. There, Hollister was able to pursue his life-long love of the German language. Upon returning to the United States, the family spent one year at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC before he left active service as a major.

After one year in Hartsville, SC, Hollister and his family relocated to Morgantown, WV where he established his private pediatric practice. He quickly became one of the most sought-after physicians in Morgantown and surrounding areas, as well as a community leader. He taught rural emergency medicine at the Physician Assistant Program at Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, WV. He also served on various medical boards at WVU.

He and Jackie initially joined Wesley United Methodist Church and later Suncrest United Methodist Church (formerly Drummond Chapel) where they remained loyal members for 50+ years. He was a Freemason and a Rotarian, and was a popular substitute church organist at various churches in the area. In retirement, he taught a course on the pipe organ for the Osher Center for Lifelong Learning at WVU.

In 1979, Hollister pivoted from his pediatric practice to work at the Monongalia General Hospital as an emergency room physician where he worked for 11 years before joining the Wedgewood Family Practice to complete his career. Hollister truly was a cradle-to-grave doctor, and the community of Morgantown, WV loved him.

Besides his work as a physician, Hollister was personally asked to rejoin military service in the West Virginia National Guard by the major general in the role of State Surgeon General where he still stands as the longest to serve in that position in the state’s history. Over the course of 13 years, he worked at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, WV and Camp Coonskin in Charleston, WV. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and then colonel. He retired from the National Guard in 1992 with a total of 34 years of service.

Hollister continued his love of music, playing the piano and organ for various churches and events and picking up a new instrument in his fifties - the cello. He played in the Morgantown Community Symphony Orchestra for more than 10 years and performed several times with the Spring Hill Community Orchestra in Spring Hill, TN.

After his wife Jackie passed away in 2018, Hollister relocated and made his new permanent home in Nashville TN, sharing a home with his son David and his family. He joined the Bellevue Presbyterian Church and participated in their Sunny Day Adult Program to provide a few hours of relief each week to caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. He found a wonderful cello teacher in Jenny Young and continued to practice his beloved music.

In 2024 health issues demanded a new level of care, and Hollister made his final home at the NHC Place at the Trace assisted living and healthcare community. He shared his love of reading by organizing a book club in which he would carefully select one of his favorite short stories and read it to his fellow residents with a discussion of the characters and plot to follow. His readings would draw 15-20 residents each month in the theater room. They loved his readings and they loved him dearly.

There are too many people who have loved and cared for Hollister to list them all here, but the family would like to extend their most grateful thanks to a few special people. Thanks to Dr. Bill Harris, Hollister’s nephew who followed in his footsteps as a physician and musician and who has been a great friend to us all. Thanks to cellist and dear friend Jenny Young, who made Hollister’s last years bright with the shared love of music. A very special thanks to GiGi Rose, who loved him like a father, was his standing date to the Nashville Symphony, visited him regularly at NHC, and often helped with accommodating his needs. Thanks to the excellent staff at NHC Place at the Trace, who have treated him with such loving care.

Friends and family will be received at Suncrest United Methodist Church in Morgantown, WV with visitation in the sanctuary on Sunday, January 11th from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and Monday, January 12th, with visitation from 10:00-11:00 a.m. followed by the funeral service at 11:00 a.m with Rev. Larry Buckland officiating. Refreshments and fellowship will be offered in the Old Drummond Chapel following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for donations sent in his honor to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, the WVU School of Medicine or the WVU School of Music, each in Morgantown, WV. These are all organizations near and dear to Hollister’s heart.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.hastingsfuneralhome.com.