Vera Lee HARRILL

VERA LEE "MITCHELL" HARRILL, daughter of William Carl Mitchell and Nora Idabel "Bowman" Mitchell, was born April 30, 1933, on the North place, near Stoutland, Missouri, and departed this life on July 8, 2025, in her home, at the age of 92. She was united in marriage with William Donald "Bill" Harrill, the love of her life, on November 8, 1951,and together they shared 71 years and raised four children. Vera was the youngest of eight children. As a child, she loved school, and the first day of school was an occasion that she looked forward to all summer. She walked 1-1/4 miles from "the old place" to the Goodwin School, now the Goodwin Calvary Baptist Church. Vera attended Stoutland High School, graduating in 1951. She attended college at Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar and SMS in Springfield, Missouri, and received her Bachelor of Science in Education in 1959 and got a position teaching second grade in Rolla. Vera also taught school at Dalton, Rippy, and Bacon in the Lebanon area, Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Valdez, Alaska. She was a librarian in Independence, Kansas, and taught English as a second language to adults in Anchorage. Vera was saved at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and baptized in 1946 at Sellers Creek. Bill and Vera found church homes every place they lived. Vera was active in the church and enjoyed teaching Sunday School and Bible study classes. She loved to sing hymns and enjoyed hosting sing-alongs in her home. Vera had a lifelong interest in art. She started painting and taking art classes at a young age. She described herself as a "hobby" artist. In her retirement, Vera worked hard to promote the arts in the
Lebanon area. She was a founding member of the Lebanon Art Guild in 1998 and established an art gallery in downtown Lebanon, which is still active today. For ten years, Bill and Vera hosted "Art at the Farm" - an annual event featuring local artists. On her 80 th birthday in 2013, Vera's "One Woman Show" was held at the Lebanon Art Guild Gallery, displaying 80 works of art, all pieces completed in the preceding 12 months. Vera was interested in genealogy and did extensive family tree research. She loved to write and wrote numerous articles for magazines and newspapers. Vera published several books of family stories and a book about food entitled "A Peculiar Cookbook." She is survived by her children: Bruce Harrill and wife Madonna of Laquey; Joy Thompson and husband Randy of Anchorage; Sherri Harrill of Lebanon; and Sandy Harrill and wife Deborah Turner of Philadelphia; grandchildren: Arthur Harrill and partner Amy Berry, Chancey Thompson and wife Marianne; Cody Thompson and wife Christina; and Mitchell Harrill-Wright; great grandchildren: Harry and Clara Thompson; and many more relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, three brothers, Warren, Kenneth, and Irvin Wayne, four sisters, Phyllis Burgess/Price, Mildred McIlnay, Opal Mills, and Maxine McKinney. She loved living on the farm, going down to the river, and her animals. In her later years, she loved being at home so much that she could barely stand to stay away. She especially loved her cat Hillary. She was deeply loved and will be forever remembered by all who knew and loved her. Memorials have been suggested to The Lebanon Art Guild. Donations can be left at or mailed to Shadel's Colonial Chapel, P.O. Box 948, Lebanon, MO 65536.