Harold C. Jamison, 80, of Durham, N.C., a retired Harrisville funeral director, businessman, and mayor, died at 8:15 a.m. Thursday in Durham after a long illness.

Born Jan. 18, 1927, in Fairview Township, Mercer County, he was the son of J. Leishman and Mary Jane McNay Jamison.

He was raised in Fredonia and graduated from Fredonia Delaware High School, Mercer County. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and graduated in 1953 with highest honors from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.

Mr. Jamison lived in Harrisville from 1955 to 2001, where he and his wife operated the Harold C. Jamison Funeral Home until his retirement in 1989. In conjunction with the funeral home, he operated an ambulance service, which served the community from 1955 to 1976. He also founded and operated Harrisville Memorials from 1968 to 1982. He had been a member of the Butler County and Mercer County funeral directors' associations.

He was a member of the Harmony United Presbyterian Church of Harrisville.

An Army Air Force veteran of World War II, he was a past commander of the Fredonia American Legion Post 919 and was a 50-year member of the Harrisville American Legion Post 852.

He also had served as mayor of Harrisville, was a volunteer firefighter and had been a member of the Slippery Rock School Board.

He was a member of the Grove City Lodge 603 F&AM and a past master of the former Cedar Lodge 800 F&AM of Grove City. He belonged to the York Rite Bodies of Freemasonry at Greenville and many other honorary bodies. He was past grand commander of Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania and also was a member of the Scottish Rite of the Consistory Valley of New Castle.

Surviving are a daughter, Kathleen A. Curry and her husband, Charles, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; two sons, Ronald C. Jamison and his wife, Brenda, of Durham, with whom he made his home; and Bruce A. Jamison and his wife, Karen, of Pleasant Hill, Ohio; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren. A brother, Ralph E. Jamison, of Euclid, Ohio, also survives.

His wife, the former Betty Cline, whom he married Nov. 27, 1947, died Nov. 27, 2003. He also was preceded in death by two brothers and a sister.

<B>JAMISON</B> — Friends of Harold C. Jamison, who died Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the <B>Jamison Funeral Home</B>, 117 N. Main St., Harrisville. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home with the Rev. Jim Cossin, executive director of Seneca Hills Bible Conference, officiating. Burial will be at Prairie Cemetery, Harrisville.A Knights Templar memorial service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.Memorial contributions may be made to the Harmony United Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 406, Harrisville, PA 16038; or to the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, 5097 N. Elston Ave., Suite 100, Chicago, IL 60630-2460.Funeral arrangement are under the direction of the <B>Hile Funeral Home Inc.</B>, St. Petersburg, Clarion County.