Mary Lou Harbison, 61, of Jacksonville, Ill, died Jan. 5, 2014 at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Ill. She was born July 6, 1952, in Jackson, Miss., to Thomas and Elizabeth Wood Harbison.
She is survived by two brothers, Tom Harbison (Kathryn Hegberg) of Delavan, and Charles Harbison (Marilyn Jacobs) of Springfield, Ill.; five nephews and nieces, Jason, Jeff, Jake, Candi and Ginger; and her fiancé, Mike Clements, of Jacksonville, Ill. She was preceded in death by her father in 1964 and her mother in 1999.
Harbison attended five schools for the deaf and graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in 1971. She then went to Gallaudet College and then to Western Maryland College. She worked as a teacher for 22 years in Texas and Ohio. She was a community volunteer and advocate in the deaf community. She received honors including “The Handicapped Professional Woman of the Year” in El Paso, Texas, in 1983 from the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.
A memorial service will be held in Delavan, tentatively in April. She will be buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Delavan. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf Foundation, P.O. Box 822 Delavan, WI 53115. Williamson Funeral Home in Jacksonville, Ill., is assisting the family. Condolences may be left online at www.airsman-hires.com.
