December 19, 1986 – November 11, 2021
Ashley-Noel “Ashford” Harrison passed away on November 11, succumbing to complications from a long battle with Takayasu’s arteritis, a rare type of vasculitis causing blood vessel inflammation. She was 34.
An alumna of Palisades Elementary, Paul Revere Middle School and Palisades Charter High, she was the office manager and a karate instructor at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center for 25 years. A fourth-degree black belt, Ashford taught kids classes alongside Blanck since the age of 12. Never one to let her ongoing health issues keep her from pursuing her goals, she was active in the dojo and an avid tennis player, even competing on the varsity girls team at Pali High.
“Ashford was not only my longtime student and office manager, most importantly she was my best friend … someone everybody loved and adored here in the dojo,” Blanck said.
A graduate of Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Ashford was a gifted painter and had some of her pieces displayed at local galleries in and around Los Angeles. She is survived by her father J. Randolph Harrison, her mother Peggy Harrison and her sister Briana Goodall.
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