Harrison had stepped down from public life to spend more time caring for his wife, whose independence had been stolen by disease. Their story was the subject of a front-page story in The News Tribune in 2006.

Reached Tuesday afternoon, Harrison said his wife’s health had continued to slowly decline since the article, but he had been able to keep her at home with the help of other caregivers.

“It was a long, slow process,” he said.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

His love for her came across clearly in the profile by reporter Angie Leventis.

“Her hair is done the same way at the same salon every Saturday, whether she knows it or not,” she wrote. “Her husband makes sure she looks as stylish as she always has, whether she realizes it or not.

“It’s just a haircut. But retired Lt. Gen. Bill Harrison, 72, made a promise long ago to keep up her appearance when her mind and her body would no longer do it for her.

“So he is keeping that promise. There’s not much else he can do.

“Harrison, the 53rd commander of Fort Lewis and the first mayor of Lakewood, stepped down from the City Council in December to spend more time caring for his wife of 39 years.

“Jo Harrison, 69, was diagnosed about four years ago with Lewy body disease, an illness similar to Alzheimer’s. She suffers from dementia and can no longer walk or perform other basic functions on her own...

“’My prayer right now is that (God) will have me healthy so I can continue to take care of her,’ he says.”

Her Saturday trips to the salon ended eight or nine months ago, but the beautician just came to the house instead, Harrison said Tuesday.

Leventis described the lengths it took just to get her there and back.

“She wants to sit down but is too far from the seat. He coaxes her to continue balancing and shuffling until he can safely sit her down in the passenger seat.

“The process takes about seven minutes, more than the drive home from the salon.”

People always told their yonger son, Charlie, he should be proud of his father’s many professional accomplishments, Leventis wrote.

“’But to me the most impressive thing is what he’s done and his love for his wife, my mom,” he says. ‘A lot of people don’t do this.’"

Ian Demsky: 597-8872