Bernard Allen Harrell

Bernard Allen Harrell of Raleigh passed away peacefully on June 19, 2020. He was born December 16, 1929 in Ahoskie, North Carolina. He was the son of Hugh Lee Harrell and Thelma Jewell Harrell. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, LaVoyce Hayes Harrell, his sister Jewell Haussmann and her husband Bill Haussmann of Southern Pines, North Carolina, his son Brandon Harrell and his wife Nancy Harrell of Richmond, Virginia, his daughter Emily Deese and her husband Joe Deese of Raleigh, and his son Hugh Lee Harrell II of Wytheville, Virginia. His grandchildren are Katie Abernethy of New York, New York, Jennifer Harrell of Durham, North Carolina, Sam Harrell of Richmond, Virginia and Frances Deese of Raleigh. His great-grandson is Luke Abernethy of New York, New York. His nephew Tom Fetzer lives in Wilmington, North Carolina and his niece Susan Vick lives in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Mr. Harrell graduated from Wake Forest College in Wake Forest, NC in 1951 and received his law degree from Wake Forest in 1954. After service in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp of the US Army he worked as a North Carolina Assistant Attorney General and was in private legal practice in Raleigh for more than fifty years. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Raleigh, and later Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Bernie was a gifted gardener of flowers and vegetables, and he loved dogs, NC peanuts, turnip greens and scuppernong grapes. He was a devoted and skilled attorney, and sometimes exchanged his services for a country ham or a bag of pecans when clients were short of cash. He loved history and sharing a laugh or a political debate with friends and family.

Private Family Graveside Funeral Rites will be held at Oakwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Tabernacle Baptist Church - 8304 Leesville Road - Raleigh, NC 27613.