Cristina ‘Dee’ Harrison finished her earthly existence after a period of declining health on 26 Dec 2022. Inaccurately assigned male at birth, she was the first child of Jack and Betty Jane (Truan) Harrison, born 9 October 1949 in Long Beach, CA. She attended Cal Poly Pomona and while a student there met the first love of her life, Beth-el Klein. Military service called and she enlisted in the U.S. Army as a nuclear weapons specialist and later earned the skill identifier of ammunition specialist. Rising through the enlisted ranks as a technician and as an instructor on Redstone Arsenal, she was a stickler for safety and security rules and regulations, earning recognition as a subject matter expert. She carried a lifetime burden of radiation exposure from her military service, contributing to her ill health in later life. As an NCO, she was protective of the women in her unit and was very proud of leading an all-female squad, even though the military didn’t recognize her as female. Due to stress of being called upon to participate in a nuclear war and the closing of programs for gender confirmation surgery in the United States, she left the Army in 1986 with more than 16 years of service and within the week began the series of gender confirmation surgeries in Frankfurt Germany.
Returning to Huntsville, AL after recovering from surgery, she sought opportunities to help people. She was a manager at Pearly Gates health store, learning much about herbal care from Myrna Copeland. She engaged in many activities to improve lives in her community. She was a volunteer at Hope Place for the victims of domestic violence, worked to help establish the Metropolitan Community Church, participated in anti-nuclear causes, served as president of the Huntsville NOW chapter ,joined the civil rights march with Coretta Scott King in Forsythe County GA, worked on homeless issues, joined in the legislative effort to make marital rape illegal in the Alabama, was a voter registrar, active in LGBT rights in the state, and was Clinic security and escort coordinator at an abortion clinic in Huntsville. It was at the abortion clinic that she met the second love of her life, Kathy Zentner.
In 1996, as a response to the attempts to legalize same sex marriage in Hawaii, the Alabama legislature drafted a bill to outlaw same sex marriage in the state. The preamble to the bill stated that ‘currently, same sex marriage is not prohibited in Alabama.’ Dee and Kathy decided to test the law. Surprised when they were given a marriage license, they met with the editorial staff at the Huntsville Times and shared their story. Their marriage endured nearly 27 years, only ending with Dee’s death. Never expecting to be a parent, Dee was very influential in the lives of her stepchildren and was a doting grandmother.
Dee was rejected by her parents and siblings due to her gender identity but was aware that her parents are deceased.
Left to cherish her memory are her wife, Kathy, stepdaughter Heidi (Roger) Simmons, stepson Kristopher Zentner and grandchildren Evan, Alaina, Adam and Maggie Simmons, and beloved dogs Bear and Tux.
The family would like to thank her health care team for their care and compassion, especially Dr Lona Haskell, Dr Heather Haley, Elizabeth Owens CRNP, Dr Christian Deutsch and the staff of CCUII at Huntsville Hospital.
There will be no service.
Dee was a lifelong animal lover. If there is a Rainbow Bridge, there would’ve been quite a ruckus on 26 December. Anyone wanting to make a donation in Dee’s memory can do so to HAWS – Helping Animals Without Shelter ( https://www.hawshelp.com/ )
(I’m coming to realize that whatever grievances, annoyances or arguments that ever were, they wash away at death and all that remains is the love we shared. Dee was loved, and she loved fiercely. – Kathy)
