As the head of the largest distributor of pesticides, fertilizers and specialty products for the turf industry, Jack Harrell, Jr. ushered the eponymous company through a process to become an employee-owned entity nearly a decade ago.
A native of Lakeland, Florida, Harrell died July 13 after a brief battle with brain cancer. The company's CEO and chairman of the board of directors, Harrell 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," said company president and COO Jack Harrell III, in a news release. "His body (has) 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."
Harrell began working at the family business in 1978 upon graduating from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor's degree in business management. He was named the company's CEO in 1991.
Ormond and Lucile Harrell started the company in 1941 as a feed store in Lakeland. Their son, Jack Harrell Sr. took over the company after the elder Harrell died in 1964.
The company was built on and managed a series of core values — serve, honor and glorify God; take care of people; and grow the company's financial strength. Harrell, the company said in a release, that he lived by those values both at home and at work, ultimately guiding the company to employee ownership in 2016.
Harrell was heavily involved in the Lakeland community, where he lettered in football for the Dreadnaughts of Lakeland High School. He served on the board of governors for Lakeland Regional Health, he was chairman of the Bonnet Springs Park Board of Directors and the Parker Street Ministries Advisory Board.
He and wife Tina were named philanthropists of the year by Lakeland Regional Health, and he was the recipient of the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
In 2019, he received the Florida Turfgrass Association's Wreath of Grass Award that is presented to those who have shown outstanding service to the Florida Turfgrass Association and to the turfgrass industry. He was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame in 2021. That same year he received the Jack with the Marie Roberts Lifetime Service Award from the Florida GCSA for significant contributions to the association and the golf industry.
Survivors include his wife, Tina; sons Jack Harrell III and Will (Julia) Harrell, both of Lakeland; and grandsons Holton, Wells and John Harrell, all of Lakeland.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m., July 20 at Victory Church in Lakeland.