Richard Harrison’s wife JoAnne Rhue Harrison

JoAnne Rhue Harrison

JoAnne Rhue Harrison is the longtime wife of Pawn Stars ‘The Old Man’ Richard Harrison –who died aged 77 on June 25^th.

JoAnne’s husband a businessman and former Navy man, starred on the on the popular History Channel reality show “Pawn Stars” –where he was known as ‘the old man.’

The North Carolina native served 20 years in the U.S. Navy, where he attained the rank of first-class petty officer before being discharged in the mid-1970s, according to Fox News.

After getting out of the military, Richard Harrison attempted to make money in real estate during the 1980s, only to lose 1 million dollars in the process. He ended up moving his family to Las Vegas, where he opened the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in 1988, according to the History Channel website.

The shop was successful, but became world-famous after “Pawn Stars” premiered in 2009. The show featured the “Old Man” and other employees negotiating over the unusual and rare items brought by customers to the store.

He began the business in the late 80’s following a 20-years career in the Navy. He is survived by his wife and their children.

JoAnne Rhue like her husband, is a North Carolina native who grew up in Kernersville. She is the daughter of Joseph Rhue, a county judge.

She and Richard Harrison had been married since 1960. JoAnne and Richard met as teenagers and tied the knot soon after high school.

The couple welcomed four kids, including son, Rick –who was also featured on the show. JoAnne Harrison is also the mother of Sherry, Joe and Christopher Harrison. However, their only daughter Sherry died at age six. Sherry was born in 1960 but was diagnosed with Down syndrome and was buried in North Carolina while the family still lived there.

While her hubby was in the Navy, JoAnne Harrison got her real estate license and opened her own office working as realtor for many years. However after the family moved to Las Vegas, she became part owner and head director of Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which is the official Pawn Stars shop.