Arthur John Harrison (A. John), 100, passed away on Wednesday, December 18, 2019.

John was born in Wellington, England, a son of the late Alice Jane (Sharp) Harrison and Arthur William Harrison.

John grew up with his younger siblings Peter and Mary in a house that celebrated music, books, and a garden full of fruit trees and chickens. He sang in the choir and then played pipe organ for area churches. Though his beliefs made him unwilling to carry a gun, John served in a battlefield ambulance corps during WWII. When the war ended, he resumed his education, ultimately taking degrees with honors in modern languages at Oxford University and in economics at the London School of Economics.

In 1949, John was one of two students from the UK selected to become interns at the newly created United Nations, starting a life in the US steeped in international business and travel. After directing educational tours to Europe for US students, John began more than three decades with Scandinavian Airlines, working in management, marketing, sales, editing, and writing. John remained active in international education after retiring from SAS, teaching the subtleties of business English idiom to young international professionals. John and Ruth, his wife of 45 years, raised their two children in New York, Alice Elsa Harrison and John Soames Harrison. He made sure their world included international understanding (including fluency in languages other than English) and keen awareness of politics and social justice in the United States. A. John became a US citizen in 1993. He was physically fit all of his life, from 11-mile bike rides to playing church organs in his teens, to tennis and cross-country skiing into his 80's and 90's. Once he moved to Allentown in 2018, he insisted on mile-long daily walks with his caregiver Cheryl.

1. John is survived by his children, two grandsons, his sister and sister-in-law, 21 nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and -nephews, and a wealth of friends of all ages inspired by his wit, wisdom, and generous spirit.

Services will be private at the convenience of the family. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Morello Funeral Home, Inc., 3720 Nicholas Street, Easton, PA (Palmer Twp). Online condolences may be offered at www.morellofuneralhome.com.