Roy A. Harrell Jr.

1936 - 2017

Roy A. Harrell, Jr.

Ozona

Roy A. Harrell, Jr., Texas rancher and American diplomat. (81) was born to Roy Alvin and Lucile Ingham Harrell Jan. 9, 1936, in Fort Worth, Texas, but immediately came to the Harrell family ranch south of Ozona where he enjoyed the love of his parents and paternal grandparents, George and Lelia Parker Harrell. He loved his life, which was filled with raising livestock, repairing windmills, adopting stray wildlife, 4H, and rodeos. He was forever grateful to the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, for saving his eye sight, beginning with muscle transplant surgery at the age of four.

Roy developed a fascination for Africa when his mother took him to a lecture by a big game hunter at the Methodist Church. In the forties and fifties, it wasn't easy to find too much written on the subject but Roy persevered. After finishing the eighth grade in Ozona, he transferred to Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas and then on to the University of Texas where he earned degrees in economics and romance languages. One semester at UT was spent at the University of Mexico as an exchange student.

He kept trying to find out what he needed to study to work in foreign affairs, which led him to Duke University law school. After that he was accepted by Johns Hopkins in their School for International Studies (SAIS), obtaining his doctorate. He simultaneously pursued a master's degree in economics from The American University, Washington, DC.

Roy worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for a year prior to joining the foreign service as a diplomat. As his career began, he served as a Spanish-English translator during the Cuban Missile Crisis. To fulfill his dream of working overseas, he joined Agency for International Development, a branch of the State Department, where he could help plan assistance projects for various African countries. While he travelled widely on the African continent, he had permanent assignments to Guinea, Chad, Niger, and Ghana. He had temporary assignments in many other countries, including Sudan, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, and others. Two highlights of his life were meetings with Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Gabon and Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

Throughout his life, he had many interests. He was a 60-year member of Ozona Masonic Lodge as well as a member of several other lodges, including Eastern Star. He was a Rotarian, attending several Rotary International Conventions. He was a member of the American Foreign Service Association and DACOR, an organization of Foreign Affairs Professionals. He participated in local churches wherever he lived. These affiliations enriched his life and enabled him to participate in community life worldwide. In 1967 he married Charlotte Purcell of EI Paso, who thereafter accompanied him on many of his adventures for nearly 50 years.

In 1995 Roy and Charlotte retired to the Harrell Ranch in Crockett County, Texas, to enjoy a more relaxed life style, where they have a small herd of Texas longhorn cattle and many Boer goats, as well as a deer hunting operation. Roy is the last of four generations of Harrells to own and live on this ranch.

Academics always interested him, and his latest stint has been with Angelo State University where he and retired dean, E. James Holland, developed the annual E. James Holland-Roy A. Harrell, Jr. Foreign Affairs Speakers Program, beginning in 2003. This year Mark B. Feierstein, Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, National Security Council, will speak about "Cuba and the United States after Fidel Castro."

Roy died of pnuemonia Monday, Jan. 16, 2017, at Shannon Hospital in San Angelo. His funeral will be held Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, at 2 p.m. at the Ozona United Methodist Church with a Masonic burial at the Harrell Ranch where his ashes will be interred under his favorite live oak tree.

Survivors include his wife, Charlotte Purcell Harrell, and his daughter, Elizabeth Stuart Deal of Charlottesville, Virginia, and her two children, Phiala Ingham Deal and Zephan Cardell Deal as well as many cousins and two aunts. The family would like to thank the many doctors, nurses and other hospital staff of Shannon Hospital who lovingly cared for Roy during his last illness.

In lieu of flowers, friends wishing to honor his memory are encouraged to contribute to the Ozona United Methodist Church "Loaves and Fishes Fund"; Mayo Clinic Foundation, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55905; Friends of the Crockett County Public Library, P. O. Box 3030, Ozona, TX 76943; ASU Foundation for E. James Holland-Roy A. Harrell, Jr. Foreign Affairs Speakers Program Endowment, ASU Station #11023, San Angelo, Texas 76909-1023, or the charity of your choice. Honorary pallbearers are members of the Sunrise Rotary Club of San Angelo, members of the Ozona, Ft, McKavett and Rocksprings Masonic Lodges and members of the Ozona United Methodist Church Mens Class. Online condolences at kerbowfuneralhome.com.