Kenneth Franklin Harrell, 86, died Tuesday, December 6, 2016, at the Wuesthoff Hospice and Palliative Care Center, Rockledge, due to complications of cancer.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Edna Ruth (Hollis) Harrell; his daughter, Deborah Roche; his daughter, Susette (Robert) Mitchell; his son, Andrew (Denise) Harrell; grandchildren Sean (Nancy) Roche; Heather (Robin) Roche; Melanie (Adam) Judge; Ryan (Sarah) Harrell; and Robin Richie; and great-grandchildren Gia, Mikaela, Hailee, Andrew, Kylie, and Brayden.
He is predeceased by his parents, John Northrup and Bessie Blanche (Cashwell) Harrell, and his siblings Mary DuBois, Ruth Varner, Barbara Moody, Claude Harrell, and Floyd Harrell.
Born and raised in St. Pauls, NC, Mr. Harrell attended St. Pauls High School. From an early age, he embraced an entrepreneurial spirit, such as raising a bull that he sold to pay for college, driving a school bus, and working on the family farm. After attending Columbia Business College, Columbia, SC, Mr. Harrell served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Jackson, SC during the Korean War. Upon leaving the military with an honorary discharge by reason of disability incurred during wartime, he started his own petroleum company. He then spent 27 years in various capacities with the U.S. government, earning the Man of the Year award from NASA-Kennedy Space Center in 1968. He was also a member of the Madison County Alabama Sheriff’s Reserve, an Honorary Citizen of the Empire of Texas, Later, “in retirement,” he owned Electronic Manufacturing Company until 2010.
Mr. Harrell’s pride and joy were his family, who loved his adventuresome nature, such as becoming involved from the ground up in establishing the Huntsville, AL Quarter Midget Association and getting the whole family involved as race car drivers, trophy girl, and time-keeper. He loved life and passed the passion to his children and grandchildren, who remember rides with Grandpa in the his 1961 MG convertible, eating dessert before dinner, road trips in the Winnebago, playing in the garage or yard as Grandpa built things, and learning to be actively involved in life and not let it pass you by. Mr. Harrell was his grandchildren’s most vocal and devoted spectator at their sports events, traveling around the country to watch them play, and even joining the Florida State University Booster Club so his granddaughter could take her soccer teammates and friends to dinner at The Champions Club.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2Tim 4:7)