Pals, peers remember Harrell as a lifesaver

Don Harrell saved countless lives.

“He saw the best in everyone, and even against resistance, was able to help people see it in themselves. Through his experience, strength and hope, he saved countless lives,” says his obituary from Dec. 23.

“I don’t want you to gloss over that, because that is a very big part of Don’s life and his legacy,” said former U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. “He literally did save lives through his work with [Alcoholics Anonymous].”

Mark Pryor spoke Wednesday at a memorial service for Harrell at the Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock.

Harrell died Dec. 18, somewhat unexpectedly after struggling for several months with a variety of health problems, according to his obituary. He was 80.

Harrell grew up in Camden with Pryor’s father, former U.S. Sen. David Pryor.

It was the kind of small town where the annual coming of the circus was announced by a parade of three decrepit elephants being shuffled down Washington Street, David Pryor wrote in his autobiography, A Pryor Commitment, which was co-authored by Harrell.

“Any kid who didn’t stick his toe in the piles of fresh dung left by the elephants was a sissy,” they wrote.

When David Pryor was elected governor in 1974, Harrell served as his press secretary and speech writer. Later, when Pryor was elected to the U.S. Senate, Harrell was his chief of staff.

Harrell then moved to New York City, where he worked for more than a decade as director of external affairs for TIAA, a higher-education retirement fund. He retired in 2003.

David Pryor attended the memorial but didn’t speak to the crowd of about 100 people. He suffered a stroke in 2016.

Harrell’s talent and intelligence might have shone even brighter had he not been in such close proximity to David Pryor, who was “arguably the most popular Arkansas politician of the modern era,” according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.

“For many years, I got up in the morning and looked forward to going to work because I would be with my best friend, Don Harrell,” David Pryor said in an email.

“My life has been blessed and enriched because of a lifelong friendship with one of the finest human beings of our time,” Pryor said. “From our boyhood days in Camden, to the state Capitol in Little Rock, to the United States Capitol in Washington, we stood side by side. We understood each other so well that we were able to communicate effectively just by looking at one another. His death has been hard on me and I miss him terribly.”

Former President Bill Clinton didn’t attend the memorial but said he remembered Harrell.

“Don Harrell gave his intelligence, enthusiasm, kindness and great good humor to a lifetime of worthy causes,” Clinton said in an email. “I worked with him for over a decade when he served David Pryor when he was governor and U.S. senator. He did a fine job for David, and for the people of Arkansas. His efforts enriched countless lives and inspired all of us who were lucky enough to know him.”

Harrell received his bachelor’s degree from Hendrix College in Conway. He later earned master’s degrees in international relations from American University and in English from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He earned his doctorate in English from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

Harrell was a voracious reader who wrote essays for Runner’s World, the Christian Science Monitor, and New York Times Magazine, and he was a regular book critic for the Houston Chronicle, according to his obituary.

He also did a stint as a U.S. Capitol police officer, but they wouldn’t let him have any bullets for his gun, Mark Pryor said.

“He always knew what was important and more importantly knew what wasn’t important,” said Tom Courtway, a former president of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. “Don really had a double dose of human nature.”

Harrell