ISLESFORD – Malcolm C. Harrison, 69, died unexpectedly Monday, May 14, 2007, after a very short illness at Mount Desert Island Hospital. He was born July 17, 1937, in St. Helens, England, the son of Charles and Mona Harrison. Raised in England, Malcolm attended Rossall, a boarding school on the coast of Lancashire. He also attended Prescot Preparatory School, Prescot, England, and Ashford Grange School, Winslow, England, before heading to Cambridge University to study mathematics. He graduated in 1959 and received a grant to pursue his doctorate at Leeds University, Leeds, England. He worked in the newly created computer applications group in the mathematics department and wrote programs for the prehistoric Pegasus computer. Asked to continue this work, he was offered a post-doctorate position at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. and moved to Boston in 1962, leaving his then 19-year-old wife, Alison, and just born child, Joanne Louise to follow weeks later. While at MIT he re-worked the Pegasus programs to adapt them to MIT’s newer and faster IBM 709 computers with great success. In 1964, while at MIT, his son, Simon Charles was born. After his grant at MIT ended, opportunities arose at both Princeton University and IBM San Jose, but a chance invitation by a former MIT colleague to give a talk at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University fortuitously opened the door to what turned into a 35-year affiliation with NYU. This surprised him after what he called his amateur presentation on neural networks. He was offered an assistant professorship, the first faculty listed at NYU under computer science even though no such department existed as of yet. In 1965, his daughter, Eve Danielle was born. The computer science department, newly created, appointed him professor of computer science in 1973, a position he held until his retirement in 2000. Soon after, he was granted the title Professor Emeritus by New York University. It was in 1973 that he first visited Little Cranberry Island, rather randomly discovered as a result of a New York Times rental ad. Malcolm and his wife, Alison, along with three children quickly became attached to the island as a respite where sailing became his full-time summer passion. A brilliant man, he approached sailing as an activity that deserved as much analysis and scrutiny as his doctoral thesis and could be caught on many a rainy day perusing various strategy and rule books. As such, many an Islesford sailor can attest to his years of racing success at the helm of his Mercury, Mora, in those twice-weekly races and various local regattas. It is of note, however, that he expressed great pride, loudly banging on the side of his hull, when his daughter, for the first time, managed to cross the finish line ahead of him. They also raced their J24 Tango in Long Island Sound out of City Island Yacht Club. Of late, he had continued to sail every summer as tactician aboard Sidewinder, never tiring of the excitement of summer racing. In addition to sailing, he loved travel adventures, afternoon naps, prototypes, fine bourbon, the mechanics of billiards, and all night reading marathons when his interest was captured. Another lifetime passion was matching the hatch, a freshwater fly fishing art form. The solitary goal was to replicate a hatching insect using excruciatingly small hooks and various feathers and yarns, presented with extraordinary care. Trout, often released unharmed, were the only judge. He likened trout fishing by worm to be like using a hammer as a screwdriver. Some of his finest hours were spent on the banks of the Beaverkill and other rivers of the New York’s Catskill Mountains. After his retirement, he and his wife traveled to New Zealand and across Europe, travel becoming a goal for the years to follow. Unfortunately, his wife Alison was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her fairly quick deterioration made care-taking a full time job. After her death in 2005, after 43 years of marriage, Malcolm settled permanently on Islesford in the summer and in Somesville during the winter months. Only recently had he begun to plan a worldwide adventure traveling to most regions he had not yet explored. He had great respect for those that went before him, things that were simplistic and masterful, graceful hard-working people, and scientific proofs of any kind. He applied critical thinking to every aspect of his life and raised his children to be just as inquisitive. He was a civilized and principled man who believed conventional wisdom was something to be considered rather than accepted. This made his life and his studies extremely interesting, spawning fascinating debate if you could manage to keep up. He is survived by his sister, Judith Ireland and her husband, David, of Preston, England. Additionally, he is survived by his three children, his daughter, Joanne Thormann and her husband, Paul, his son, Simon Harrison and his wife, Stephanie, and his daughter, Eve Harrison. He also leaves behind four grandchildren, Curtis, Jamie and Rebecca Thormann and Colin Harrison. We are grateful for a special lady, Susan Walters of Kennebunk, who clearly brought fun and companionship back into his life. A summer memorial service is planned on Islesford, a date to be announced.