James E. Harrell MD

James Edward Harrell, M.D., died peacefully at home, surrounded by his wife and four children, on May 11, 2018. He lived a life full of love, family, giving, and service to his community and his country.

The son of Dr. O.E. Harrell and Margaret Hughes Harrell, James was born in Jacksonville, FL, and is the second of five children in a close knit family. He graduated from Landon High School in 1956 and was a proud member of the Jacksonville American Red Cross Life Saving Corps. He went to the University of Florida where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity and studied Medicine. In 1964 he received his M.D. degree from the University of Florida. He interned at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, joined the U.S. Army Reserves and married his college sweetheart, Gayle Bauer. In 1965 he began active duty service with the U.S. Army spending his initial tour at Ft. Ritchie, MD. He then went on to serve in Vietnam, as a doctor with the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi and with the 65th Combat Engineers.

In 1971, James and his young family moved to Stuart, Florida. He was the 20th doctor in town when he started his Ob-Gyn practice. He was joined the following year by Dr. Larry Holder and Dr. Bill Hewson and they became known as the “3 H’s.” In 1985 he began his James E. Harrell, M.D.P.A. gynecology practice.

When James was 17 years old, he saved two children from drowning in the Atlantic Ocean as a volunteer of the Jacksonville American Red Cross Life Saving Corps. This set him on a lifelong path of service to others.

Service to his profession included time spent as President of the Martin County Medical Society. He also served at the state level on numerous Florida Medical Association Councils. He was a member of the American Medical Association for 45 years and also was a member of the Florida Ob-Gyn Society and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Early in his career, James realized that indigent and immigrant obstetrical patients received no prenatal care in Stuart, so he and his partners worked with the local health department to provide this service. He started a clinic in Indiantown, and his wife, Gayle, would translate for patients who only spoke Spanish. Often, his patients couldn’t pay Dr. Harrell for their pre-natal care, deliveries, and surgeries. He was known to accept as payment anything from a bag of oranges to fish caught in the St. Lucie River. When the AIDS epidemic first made itself known in the early 1980’s, Dr. Harrell and his partners were among the few doctors on the Treasure Coast willing to treat HIV positive patients. In his life he delivered 4,000 babies.

For all of his medical career Dr. James Harrell sought to promote the health and well-being of women. Ending domestic violence became his cause, and in 1997 he was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence. He also served on the Board of Directors of SafeSpace, and authored several FMA courses on Domestic Violence.

His other community and state activities included involvement in the local Vietnam Veterans of America, Elks Lodge #2658, The Library Foundation of Martin County, The Martin County Gator

Club, The Republican Club of Martin County and the Civitan Club. He was also a 40-year member of the First Presbyterian Church in North River Shores. In 2012, he won the American Diabetes Association Father-of-the Year Award.

After his service in Vietnam, where he was exposed to Agent Orange, James was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, also known as Juvenile Diabetes. While he never let this disease affect his ability to serve his community and love his family and friends, it took a toll on his physical body. After suffering kidney failure in 2000, his dear friend and fellow medical professional, Mrs. Sue Morris of Gainesville, FL, donated her kidney to him. The 2001 transplant saved his life and allowed him to live to see all of his children married, his grandchildren born, and his wife elected eight times into the Florida House of Representatives.

In retirement, Dr. Harrell took on a new, supporting role to his wife, Gayle, in her political career. No one was a bigger advocate for Representative Gayle Harrell than her adoring husband James. He was convinced he had married the smartest, prettiest woman that ever lived and would tell that to anyone and everyone, along with stories of her accomplishments as a wife, mother, and professional.

James was famous for his saying, “What’s the 11th commandment?” He would then answer the question with: “Thou shalt not sweat it.” He truly believed one should “not sweat the small stuff” in life.

More than anything, he was a devoted family man. He and Gayle raised four children and delighted in their eight grandchildren. He was a kind, supportive, and compassionate man, with a love of God, country, and family.

James is survived by his wife, Florida House Representative Gayle Harrell, his daughters, Stephanie Harrell, Jennifer Sobanet, Jamie Harrell, and Melinda Johnson, and their children, James, Jupiter and Justice Johnson, Nicole and Anna Harrell, and Aaron, Tyler and Nicholas Johnson. He is also survived by his siblings Martin Harrell of Norcross, Georgia, John Harrell of Panama City, FL, Mary Jane McKnight of Jacksonville, FL and William Harrell of Jacksonville Florida, as well as numerous nieces and nephews who loved and adored him.

There will be a viewing on Sunday, May 13, from 4 pm to 6 pm at Aycock Funeral Home in Jensen Beach. There will then be a private burial. On Monday, May 14, there will be a Celebration of Life service and reception at 4pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Stuart in North River Shores on 1715 NW Pine Lake Dr.

If you wish to make a donation in lieu of flowers, the family asks you to make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (jdrf.org), SafeSpace (safespacefl.org, 612 SE Dixie Hwy, Stuart, FL 34994) or a charity of your choice.