Gwendolyn Marie Harrison, a devoted caregiver and beloved family anchor, was called home on May 26, 2026, in Olathe, KS, at the age of 70 after an illness. Born June 18, 1955, and raised in the church in Oklahoma, she attended Dunbar Elementary School in Lawton, Oklahoma, Eisenhower Jr. High School in Manhattan, and Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Family life was central to Gwen, she was often thought of as an “old soul.” as a teenager she chose responsibility and compassion—caring for younger siblings, aunts, and uncles. Later in life helping raise nieces and nephews, tending to elders in the family and close friends. Gwen's love was shown in actions rather than words.

Gwen spent several years abroad in Germany while her husband was stationed there. Her young-adult years were spent cultivating lasting friendships with several close friends who were thought of as her “Rat Pack,” and they often enjoyed going out to Tuttle Creek in Manhattan, Kansas, to barbecue.

While living in California, Gwen worked as an assistant manager at a pizza restaurant. After moving to Kansas City from California in 1998, she worked in shipping and receiving at Harte Hanks in Shawnee, KS, and as a cook for Shoney’s and Hardee’s in Kansas City, KS. She took pride in her work and treated everyone with respect, responding with a warm “yes ma’am” or “yes sir,” regardless the receivers of age.

Her family remembers her by the nickname “Fatty,” a name her mother used affectionately when calling for her; it was never meant or received as anything derogatory.

In later years her grandchildren fondly recall Gwen asking if they had any “cookies or cake,” and she was serious too because of her ravenous sweet tooth. She would tell them she had money put aside for them and, when they asked “where,” she would point to the sky.

Gwen loved watching old westerns and sitting on the porch, watching children play and enjoying the fresh air.

Gwen was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Harrison (Whitakers, North Carolina); her mother, Rosie Lee Bailey Roberts (Manhattan, Kansas); her father, Lawrence (serving in Vietnam at the time of his death); sister Rosetta (Lawton, Oklahoma); and nephew Vincent Bailey (Kansas City, Kansas).

She is survived by her daughter Michelle Harrison and son James Harrison; grandchildren Vanesha and Alaysia Whisonant, and Marquise Hayes (all of Kansas City, Kansas); sister Gloria Bailey (Kansas City, Kansas); brothers Robert Bailey (Wetmore, Kansas), Ronnie and Donald Bailey (Seattle, Washington), and Gabriel Bailey (Houston, Texas); nieces Brittnee Bailey (Kansas City, Kansas) and Olivia Henry (Kansas City, Missouri); and nephews Travis Henry (Kansas City, Kansas) and Kristofer Bailey (Manhattan, Kansas).