WILLIAM G. "BILL" HARRELL
Jan. 9, 1953-July 20, 2015
William G. "Bill" Harrell, 62, died Monday at home.
Born in Wayne County, he was the son of the late Ernest Asa Harrell and Ruth Ferrell Harrell.
Bill was the owner and operator of Bill Harrell Garage, but was more well-known as the retired fire chief at Mar Mac Volunteer Fire Department. He began his career in fire service in 1982 with Mar Mac, and retired in 2012.
He served in most all of the positions in the department and was chief from 1992 to 2012.
He was the president of the Wayne County Firemen's Association in 1995 and 1996. In 1996, Bill was awarded the Governor's Award for Bravery and Heroism, The Hero of the Year Award by the 40-8 Society and the Wayne County Firemen's Association's Above and Beyond Award for saving the life of a child during a fire. He was also awarded the Higgins and Langley Award, which is an international water rescue award.
In 2000, he was awarded the G. Edgar Summerlin Firefighter of the Year Award by the Wayne County Firemen's Association.
He was also a former member of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office Advisory Board.
During his time in the fire service, Bill was instrumental in creating the Arr-Mac Water Rescue Team, the Arr-Mac Search and Rescue Team, the Mar Mac Fire Department Honor Guard and the Mar Mac First Responders.
He was currently serving as the chairman of the Southern Wayne Sanitary District.
A service to celebrate his life will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at The Bridge, with the Rev. Karl Bartlett officiating. Burial with fire department honors will follow in Wayne Memorial Park.
The family will greet friends Wednesday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Bridge and at other times, will be at the home.
Bill is survived by his wife, Teresa Harrell; his daughter and son-in-law, Jamie and Bradley Richards of Goldsboro; two grandchildren, Tommi Gray Richards and Stella Grace Richards; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Ray and Alice Harrell of Dudley and Mike and Mary Harrell of Pikeville; a sister-in-law, Pat Hare of Dudley; and his beloved dog, Gracie.
Shumate-Faulk Funeral Home and Crematory Inc. of Goldsboro is serving the Harrell family, and online condolences may be sent through www.shumate-faulk.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 22, 2015 1:49 PM