Bob Harrell remembered for service

Bob Harrell, a longtime state transportation commissioner and father of House Speaker Bobby Harrell, died Friday morning after a long illness.

He was 75.

For more than 10 years, Harrell was the voice of the Lowcountry on the powerful state Transportation Commission. The Charleston businessman played a significant role in the construction of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and the project to widen U.S. Highway 17 south of Charleston County. Later, he helped expose what he called "despicable" spending practices at the agency.

But Harrell may be as well known locally as the owner of an insurance agency and a pecan farm in Meggett. A friendly, outgoing man, his friends said if there was anything he loved more than public service and politics, it was his family. In fact, in a profile of the then-new highway commissioner in 1991, Harrell listed "family" as his greatest accomplishment.

"Our dad taught us volumes about life, from faith and family to public service and business,"

Bobby Harrell said Friday. "He was the best role model anyone could ever have. We will all miss him but feel blessed to have had him."

Robert William Harrell was born in Rockingham, N.C., in 1935. His father was killed in a logging accident just before his birth, and his mother died shortly after he was born. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.

As a teenager, he took a job in a shoe store, which transferred him to Orangeburg in 1954. There, he sold a pair of shoes to the woman who would become his wife of 56 years, Charlotte Davis Harrell. In less than 10 years, they had moved to Charleston and Harrell had opened his insurance office.

Harrell had always had an interest in politics, and even ran for Congress once. But mostly he encouraged others, such as former state lawmaker and congressman Tommy Hartnett, to run for office.

"He was just a good friend," Hartnett said. "He was fiercely loyal to his friends, loved his wife and children deeply, and was very proud of them."

State lawmakers appointed Harrell as the Lowcountry's transportation commissioner in 1990, a post he held for four years. They reappointed him in 2000 and 2004. When the state Supreme Court ruled that state law did not allow delegations to appoint members to successive terms, Harrell was one of the members who, as he joked, was "fired."

Secretary of Transportation H.B. Buck Limehouse called Harrell a good friend and credited Harrell with first suggesting he go to work for the Department of Transportation. He called Harrell a tenacious worker and a devoted family man.

"Family meant more to him than almost anyone I've ever met," Limehouse said. "He had a great vision for the state of South Carolina. He will be missed. He leaves behind a great legacy."

In his time on the commission, Harrell fought to have projects ranked, approved and funded based on need -- not the political clout of the person requesting it. He secured funding for the Betsy Kerrison Parkway near Kiawah and Seabrook islands, and the Glenn McConnell Parkway in West Ashley. For most of his career, Harrell refused to even take the per diem offered to commissioners.

He once said: "I just appreciated the opportunity to serve, as corny as that might sound."

"He was an excellent highway commissioner and a real gentleman," said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell. "He was successful in everything he did. He left South Carolina a better place."

Harrell is survived by his wife, Charlotte; three children, Robert W. Harrell Jr., Lea Harrell Kirkland and John Davis Harrell; and eight grandchildren.