John Harrell

GRAYRIDGE - John J. Harrell, 79, died July 11, 2002, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter.

Born Jan. 27, 1923, in Suffolk, Va., son of the late Nathaniel and Ruby Leigh Powell Harrell, he had lived in Maryland, France, Fort Knox, Ky., and Virginia before moving to Grayridge in 1986. He served with the U.S. Army for 26 years before retiring as a master sergeant. A member of the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite in St. Louis, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars, he was also a member of the First Baptist Church in Hampton, Va.

On April 17, 1949, at Fort Knox, he married Maxine Julian who survives of the home.

Other survivors include: one son, Kenneth Paul Harrell of Hampton; one daughter, Paula Kay Dawes of Binghampton, N.Y.; one sister, Vivian Zink of Warrensburg; and four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Four sisters and one brother preceded him in death.

Visitation is from 10 a.m. Monday until service time at 11 a.m. at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter. The Rev. Melvin Gainer of Dexter will officiate.

Burial will be held at a later date.