Robert Paul Harrison

He was born to Robert “Sparky” and Mabel Harrison. He graduated from Calumet High School in 1958 and from Northern Michigan University in 1962. He was a resident of Laurium until he got his first English teaching job in Newberry. After a year he moved to Wisconsin, living in Kenosha and teaching at Union Grove High School until his retirement in 1995. He moved to Henderson, Nevada in October, 2018 to be near his friend and companion Yuliya Lundquist. He died of a heart attack at his condo there.

Robert (Bob) was preceded in death by his parents; his older sister, Joan and her four children; Bob’s nephews and nieces, all four, Nancy, Scott, Robert (Bobby) and Debby live in Florida.

Robert had several nicknames while in the UP, among them: “Big Bopper”, “Old Crow” and “Hessie.” However, all of those names were replaced when he began teaching in Union Grove. From then until his final breath, he was “Jocko.” He was named after a local character. He deserved the name, being a character his entire life. Literally hundreds knew him as Jocko while never knowing his given name.

Jocko was a character who lit up any room he walked into. His gregariousness was contagious. He never met a stranger. He would talk to anyone who was close by, especially if they were sports fans. It was said that he would talk to a fence post if no one else was around.

Jocko was an avid fan of the Detroit Lions, Tigers and Red Wings. His loyalty did not waiver when all three teams were lousy, like last year. He also loved the University of Michigan teams, especially the football teams.

Jocko went to hundreds of their games between 1954 and 2018. He saw the Tigers win a World Series game in 2006. Their only win against St. Louis that series. He also saw a National Football League Championship (Prior to the change of name to Super Bowl) and a seventh game of the Stanley Cup. His hope of seeing the Lions win the Super Bowl, means he left this earth too soon.

Jocko also accumulated an amazing amount of sports and country western music memorabilia. His collection includes photos and autographs of many very famous sports and country music stars, such as Muhammed Ali, Bobby Layne, Gordie Howe, Tammy Wynette and George Jones. His basement in his Kenosha home was completely dedicated to displaying his collections. After he moved to Nevada, his condo’s walls were filled with his favorite treasures.

Jocko was never a great athlete, but he did have at least one highlight worthy moment. In 1957, Calumet had a very good football team which Jocko was on, but never got into a game. They were so good that they would hold a Thursday night practice under lights at the football field. Hundreds came out the night in question. The team was running pass patterns in sweat pants when Jocko took his turn as a receiver. As he ran out to catch the pass, his sweat pants started to fall down. Jocko grabbed his pants with his left hand and the pass with his right hand. The crowd rose to their feet and gave him a rousing cheer.

As Jocko always left us laughing, we think he would appreciate this story being shared with you. Jocko you will be missed terribly by all of us who knew you well and by those who met you on an occasion or two. Rest in Peace our FRIEND.