Anna L. Harrison, 100, of Asbury Park, NJ passed away on Saturday, September 19, 2015 in St. Louis, MO.  She was born on October 2, 1914 in Allendale, SC to Tillman and Ella Lofton.  She was the eldest of seven children, having two brothers and four sisters.

Anne was baptized at Second Baptist Church in 1929, in the midst of the depression, by Reverend Ashby.  She lived in South Carolina until the age of fourteen. In 1928 her entire family moved in a friend's car to Asbury Park, NJ.  The family had to steal away in the middle of the night because her father owed money to the owner of the land that he farmed.

Anna attended Ridge Avenue Elementary School.  Her father got a job with the railroad. When Anna was sixteen she dropped out of school to help the family pay expenses.  She later worked as domestic help for a Greek family from 1930 to 1940.  The next three years Anna worked as an elevator operator for the Jersey Central Railroad.

In 1945 she applied for and got the job as a Clerical and Administrative Assistant at Fort Monmouth, NJ.  She worked there for about three years and was laid off.  Her boss was so impressed with her work that he sent a man to her home (she did not have a phone in her home) to offer her reemployment.

Anna's work involved the handling of a significant amount of World War II top secret information.  She worked in the bookbindery and photography departments beside employees with college degrees, although she had no formal education herself.  Anna was employed at Fort Monmouth for 32 years.  She had received numerous awards for her dedication to her work and superior performance.

In 1938, while employed at Fort Monmouth, she met and later married Richard Raisen.  He worked on the Central Railroad of New Jersey as a Pullman Porter.  It was one of the best jobs a young black man could have at the time.  Richard died in 1949 and Anna did not remarry until 1977.  She married a longtime friend, William Harrison.  Neither of her marriages produced any children.

Anna and William returned to the state of their birth, South Carolina, and took up residence in Mullins, not far from Myrtle Beach.  They lived in wedded bliss until 1991 when William passed away.

William was a 32nd Degree Mason and a Shriner, while Anna was very active as an Eastern Star.  Needless to say, throughout their marriage they did a considerable amount of entertaining and traveling to conventions for their organizations.  After the death of her husband, William, Anna moved to St. Louis, Mo and lived with her sister and brother in law.