William H. Harrison, 93, a pioneer in the local tool and die industry, passed away peacefully at Meadville Medical Center on Thursday, June 18, 2009, after a short illness.

He is survived by sons William Charles of Akron, Ohio (wife Pat), Benjamin of Dallas, Texas (wife Tamara), Jim of New Braunfels, Texas (wife Kimberly), Edward of Warren, Ohio (wife Polly), and daughter Mary Kay Muller of Largo, Fla. (husband David). A son, Frederick, preceded them in death in 1959.

He was also preceded in death by his wife, Kay Harrison, in 1999. The family now numbers 19 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, plus numerous nieces and nephews, many of whom reside in or are regular visitors to the Meadville area.

He was born to Benjamin Earl and Bessie Porter Harrison on Jan. 2, 1916, in Westford, Pa. He graduated Greenville High School and attended Thiel College in Greenville. In addition to four sons and a daughter, he is survived by two sisters, Ruth of the Crawford County Care Center, Saegertown, and Lolita of Florida. His three brothers preceded him in death. Harrison was a long-term member of St. Agatha Catholic Church and a supporter of its school and numerous local charities.

He was employed at Talon Inc. from 1940 until 1952 to devote full time to his private venture, earning a reputation as a masterful and innovative craftsman, a fair and supremely honest businessman and someone who would readily offer advice, even to competitors.

Among Harrison’s achievements were the design and manufacture of precision grinder vises that became the accepted standard among the region’s most skilled and demanding toolmakers. He also invented and manufactured the first toolmaker’s microscope with table movements calibrated to microfractions, and designed literally hundreds of special-purpose fixtures and other devices aimed at expediting the production of precision tools while keeping cost to a minimum. The list of clients of Harrison Tools included his former employer Talon Inc., Westinghouse, Packard Electric, Dad’s Dog Food, General Electric, Barrett Tools, the U.S. government and many other regional and national companies with ties to the Meadville area.

He was an outboard and inboard hydroplane owner and racer, the designer and builder of racing engines (one of which won a national championship in a boat piloted by Meadville’s William Ott), an airplane pilot, a licensed commodore certified to navigate the Great Lakes, a builder of go-karts, a model airplane enthusiast, stock car racing fan, a motorcycle owner and rider, a tireless investigator and discoverer of artifacts from the area’s “oil era” dating from the early1860s, a model train collector, and a devout fan of the then-St. Agatha “Aggies” basketball teams that included each of his sons as players, and his daughter as cheerleader.

Along the way, he employed his considerable mechanical and innovative skills to making “one of a kind” toys to the delight of his growing family, teaching them in the process that work and play can coexist in a meaningful way.

Following the loss of their beloved Freddy in 1959, Bill and Kay focused on helping those children who were, in their words, “less fortunate.” These activities included co-sponsoring the annual Soap Box Derby races in Meadville, converting the then-dormant Kerrtown Civic Club into a treasured neighborhood center complete with kitchen and modern recreational facilities, and finally arranging for a newly constructed building that was dedicated to Kay Harrison upon her passing in 1999.

A rich and full time on this earth cannot be summed up simply, but Harrison himself remembered a time when, at age 90, a family physician reviewed his medical file and marveled, saying, “Good Lord, Bill, let’s see, you flew airplanes without a license, rode motorcycles even on icy roads, raced stock cars, raced boats and rode motorcycles well past retirement age. What were you trying to do, end your life?” To which Harrison responded, “No, I was just trying to enjoy it.” And that he did.

Calling hours will be Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Roofner-Collins Funeral Home Inc., 544 Chestnut St., Meadville, with a vigil prayer service at 7:45 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. at St. Agatha Catholic Church, 353 Pine St., Meadville, with Father Raymond Gramata, pastor of St. Agatha’s, as celebrant.

Burial will be in St. Agatha Cemetery, West Mead Township.