For many people in Lakeland, Jack Randolph Harrell Jr. embodied the core values of his family’s fertilizer and seed company, Harrell’s LLC:
- to serve, honor and glorify God.
- take care of people.
- and grow Harrell’s financial strength.
Harrell died on Saturday at his Lakeland home following a six-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 68.
“My family is saddened by the loss of my father, but we rejoice that he has gone home to Glory and is not in any more pain and suffering any longer,” Jack Harrell III said. “His body had been restored and he is at peace. My father was a great man who took care of so many people. Everyone else was always his main concern, rather than himself. We will all miss him but are so happy that he is rejoicing in Heaven.”
Integrity, generosity and faith: On Sunday, tributes to Harrell began circulating on social media and at Monday morning’s City Commission meeting, Harrell was remembered by the panel for his integrity, generosity to Lakeland and his practiced Christian faith.
“He quietly did a lot of things that we’ll never know about and that maybe only (his wife) Tina knows about,” Mayor Bill Mutz said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if Tina wouldn’t know some of the things that maybe he did to help someone. His family, his legacy is obviously in our thoughts and prayers right now.”
“He quietly did a lot of things that we’ll never know about.”
Mayor Bill Mutz
Harrell graduated from Lakeland Senior High School, where he was a football letterman. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Georgia Southern College in 1978. He then returned to Lakeland to join the business that his grandparents, Ormond and Lucile Harrell, started in 1941. In the late 1970s, the business consisted of Harrell’s Feed Store on Lake Mirror and multiple Harrell’s Garden Centers in Lakeland and the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area.
Business transformation: Harrell worked with his father and namesake to grow and transform the local retail company into a worldwide industry-leading producer and distributor of “customized agronomic solutions.” Their international growth began with the construction of the company’s first fertilizer manufacturing plant on Kraft Road in 1985.
Under Harrell’s leadership as CEO, the company “began an unprecedented era of expansion, mergers and acquisitions, growing the company into what is now the nation’s largest producer of custom-blended fertilizers and distributor of chemicals for golf courses, lawn care, greenhouses, nurseries and specialty agriculture,” his obituary stated.
The company now has locations stretching from Florida to Washington state, and from New England to Southern California. It has customers around the world.
The ‘Harrell’s family’: Many people who worked for him and also people in need throughout Lakeland will remember his generosity. His family said Harrell was renowned for “his investment in people through transformational generosity, and he realized that his giving was able to drastically improve lives. He was strategic and intentional in meeting philanthropic needs.”
In 2016, Harrell oversaw making the company 100% employee-owned, giving his staff a greater connection to the company’s value creation while providing for their future.
Jodie Snyder, whose husband has worked for Harrell’s for 21 years, called Harrell one of the nicest men she has ever known.
“He had a gift for listening, caring and making people feel important,” Snyder wrote on the company’s Facebook page. “From the first time I met him, he was warm and welcoming and always made me feel like a part of the Harrell’s family. Sending love and prayers to Tina, Jack III, Will, Julia and the whole Harrell’s family and Harrell’s team.”
Tributes from local leaders: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his uncle and Harrell’s aunt were married and Judd called Harrell his cousin, along with his lifelong friend.
“There’s never been a better Christian man, family man or businessman — and he has helped untold thousands of people,” said Judd. “Please keep Jack’s family in your prayers and understand he is not only a great loss for his family, he is a great loss for our community.”
Another civic leader, David Bunch, paused on Monday after receiving a proclamation from the city to remember his friend.
“Jack has left a legacy for Bonnet Springs Park — it’s a living, growing legacy,” Bunch said of the 168-acre privately funded public park. “We’ll always have all the fertilizer we want.”
Bunch said Harrell joined Bonnet Springs Park’s board of directors at a time when the board was struggling.
“Jack came in and stabilized that board and brought in a business acumen we needed,” Bunch added. “Jack gave such a great leadership at a critical time.”
The Harrells also donated $1.3 million for the Jack and Tina Harrell Family Botanical Garden and the Jack and Tina Harrell Family Greenhouse.
Bonnet Springs Park recently celebrated its two-millionth visitor.
Mental health advocate: More recently, Jack and Tina Harrell partnered with Lakeland Regional Health to build the Harrell Family Center for Behavioral Wellness, a state-of-the-art, 96-bed, $46 million facility that the Harrells hoped would provide more people with access to mental health care and erase the stigma surrounding mental illness.
“Jack Harrell was an amazing man and I’m so sad that he’s gone,” LRHMC Associate Vice President of Behavioral Health Service Alice Nuttall wrote on Facebook. She gave LkldNow permission to use her comments. “I am still expecting him to text me at any moment a question or a contact for someone that needs our help … What he and his family have done for mental health in this community has already helped so many and will continue to make a fundamental improvement for generations to come!”
She described the moment he walked off the stage after making a speech at the center’s ribbon cutting.
“He leaned over and said to me, ‘It’s your show now, run with it.’ Talk about a call to action!” Nuttall wrote. “Jack, I won’t ever forget your belief in us and our team and we will continue to strive to serve more and make a difference on your behalf!”
Harrell was a member of the boards of Lakeland Regional Health, Bonnet Springs Park and Parker Street Ministries, and was an active member of Christ Community Presbyterian Church.
Pro-life advocacy: He also supported the Options for Women Pregnancy Help Clinic, which provides pro-life counseling.
“I keep a recording on my phone of a message he sent me in support and encouragement of Options for Women PHC,” clinic Executive Director Marilyn Agenter Paul wrote on her Facebook page. “On June 27th he texted me the Bible verse he wanted me to write on our clinic wall before the drywall goes up.”
That verse was:
Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord. Many, Lord, are asking, ‘Who will bring us prosperity?’ Let the light of your face shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalms 4:4-8
Family man: Outside of work and philanthropy, Harrell’s passion was his family. He spent as much time as he could with his wife, sons and grandchildren. He also enjoyed his vast wine collection, eating at the area’s finest restaurants and traveling.
He was predeceased by his parents, both sets of grandparents, and his brother-in-law, Ted Strawbridge. He is survived by his wife, Tina, and by his sons Jack Harrell III and Will Harrell, and his wife, Julia, of Lakeland and his three grandsons, Holton, Wells, and John Owen Harrell, of Lakeland. He’s also survived by his sister, Susie Wilson, and her husband, Steve, of Gatlinburg, Tennessee; his sister, Mary Lu Strawbridge, of Lookout Mountain, Georgia; and his brother, Fred Harrell, and his wife, Terely, of San Francisco, California. Jack is also survived by many nieces and nephews, to whom he was known as “Uncle Bubba.”
Funeral service: A celebration of life service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Victory Church, 1401 Griffin Road, with the Rev. Lyle Caswell, senior pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church, presiding.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Parker Street Ministries, Bonnet Springs Park or Lakeland Regional Health.
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Loved this article about Jack’s life and family. Love Jack and Tina and very thankful for my friendship with Jack Sr. And Jack Jr. May he rest in peace. Doug