Below are excerpts from Dr. Harrell's obituary on the Miller Funeral Home website.
James Patrick “Pat” Harrell, 81, of 246 Ainsley Road, passed away on Tuesday, June 2, at Elizabeth City Health and Rehabilitation following a long illness. The oldest of six children, he was the son of the late James Wesley Harrell, Sr. and Nokomis Harrell Harrell. He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Carroll McDonnell Harrell. He is also survived by his loving and supportive family: two sisters, June H. Piland (John,) of Clayton, N.C., Jill H. Kahl (Paul,) three brothers, Jesse Vance Harrell (Hilda,) Joe Allen Harrell (Joan,) and James Wesley “Jimmy” Harrell, Jr. (Darlene,) all of Hertford.
Always civic-minded, he enjoyed membership in Rotary International. He was a member of the Hertford club where he served as president. While a member of the Manteo Rotary Club, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship. After moving back to Herford, he again enjoyed membership in the Hertford club until his health failed. He served as the first chairman of the Outer Banks Hospital Board of Directors and also was chairman of the Vidant-Chowan Hospital Board of Directors. He helped organize the Perquimans County Schools Foundation and was its first president. A lover of sports, he also enjoyed membership on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Board of Directors and was president of the organization for two consecutive terms. He was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2004 and one of 100 Outstanding N.C. Superintendents during the organization’s 100th-anniversary celebration in 2014. Upon his retirement in 1993, he was honored to be a recipient of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
