SWANNANOA – When James “Jimmy” Harbison woke up on Sept. 27, the only thing he wanted to do was check on his friend and cousin Alvin “Duck” Boyd.
Unintimidated by the rain from Tropical Storm Helene, Jimmy walked to Twin Laurel Road not far from his home, and began to wade through the rising stream that flows into the Swannanoa River, his sister, Norma Harbison told the Citizen Times. Taking his first steps into the water, Harbison made it to a telephone pole along the road before the stream began to rise higher and higher.
His cousin, Venita Brown, yelled from her house for him to stop to get help or at least turn back before crossing the road. At 71, Harbison held onto the telephone pole for a while before letting go. He then took two steps toward a bridge to cross the road. On his third step, Brown watched as Jimmy “went down.”
He reached out to stabilize himself but was pushed under the water. After that, he didn’t surface again.
Harbison was one of 43 people who died in Buncombe County after Helene hit the region on Sept. 27. Along the stream, the force of the water turned over cars, blew away massive trees and twisted buildings on the way to the river. Recalling Jimmy’s life, his cousin and sister remembered him as a loving man who cared deeply about all of his friends and family whether they lived near or far.