Richard Benjamin Harrison Jr. (1941 - 2018)

Born 4 Mar 1941 in Danville, Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Jun 2018 at age 77 in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, USA

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Richard Harrison Jr. is Notable.

Biography

He was born on 04 March 1941 in Danville, Virginia, USA. His parents were Ruth Alice (Davis) and Richard Benjamin Harrison, Sr. (1908-2000) who was of Irish descent, from the Corcabaskin area in West Clare where the name is still most numerous.

About 1942 his parents moved the family from Virginia to Lexington, North Carolina, USA.

In October 1958 he entered the US Navy, served about 20 years and achieved the rank of petty officer first class.

Richard Benjamin Harrison, Jr. married on 07 Jul 1959 in Davidson County, North Carolina, USA to Joanne Rhue, ^[1] daughter of Joseph Rhue, a county judge, who later became one of the lead attorneys for the Philip Morris tobacco division in North Carolina, USA.

His wife immediately became pregnant and their first child Sherry, was born with Down syndrome (1960-1967). They also had three sons.

In April 1981 he moved his family to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA where he opened the "Gold & Silver Coin Shop".

In 1987 the Harrisons obtained a license to buy and sell secondhand goods and in 1989 he and his son Rick opened the "Gold & Silver Pawn Shop" in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

He was a businessman and reality television personality. ^[2] He was best known as the co-owner of the "Gold & Silver Pawn Shop", as featured on the History Channel series "Pawn Stars" since 2009.

His nicknames have included Benny, The Appraiser and The Old Man.

He died as a result of Parkinson's disease on 25 June 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA ^{[3] [4]} and was survived by his wife, three sons, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He placed his son Rick in charge of his estate.

Research Notes

Various claims have been made that the family line is related to William Henry Harrison, USA President#9 and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, USA President#23. This researcher could find no common Harrison ancestor. Please let us know if you find any connection.

Sources

1. ↑ North Carolina, Davidson County Vital Records 1867-2006 on FamilySearch.org citing North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh, NC; m: 07 Jul 1959 Davidson, North Carolina, USA for Richard B. Harrison & Joanne Rhue
2. ↑ IMDb for Richard Harrison] of the "Pawn Stars" tv show
3. ↑ Richard Harrison, Canny Patriarch of ‘Pawn Stars’, Dies at 77
4. ↑ https://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=richard-harrison&pid=189406841&fhid=12179

• Wikipedia:Richard_Benjamin_Harrison

• 2011 Autobiography by son, Rick Harrison

• Wikidata: Item Q5856671, en:Wikipedia for Richard Benjamin Harrison

• Family tree on Geni .com