Ethel Harrell was born in Celt, Missouri on May 7, 1933, the daughter of Claud and Maude (Bishop) Clemmons. She passed from this life on July 30, 2020 in Hermitage, Missouri, surrounded by her loving family. Ethel was united in marriage with Kenneth Harrell on February 22, 1951. They enjoyed 65 years together. This union was blessed with ten children.
Ethel raised her children in Kansas City, Kansas. While raising her own children, she ran an in-home daycare center, where she helped to shape the lives of many other children. After closing her daycare center, she moved to Lead Hill, Arkansas. She was employed by the Department of Children and Family Services. Her love of children led Kenneth and her to become foster parents. She was the foster mom to 33 children. One of her most cherished awards was when Kenneth and she became foster parents of the year for the State of Arkansas.
Ethel and Kenneth moved to Hermitage, Missouri to be closer to their family in 2007. Ethel accepted Jesus as her savior as a teenager. She was a member of Nemo Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Ethel was born to be a caregiver; she was the happiest while helping others. Her family knew she was always ready to provide help and love for all.
Ethel was preceded in death by her parents, Claud and Maude Clemmons; her husband, Kenneth Harrell; her son, Michael Harrell; two daughters, Vickie Harrell and Janet Rausch; her sisters, Evelyn Dillon and Dottie Bishop; and her brother, John Robert. She is survived by seven children, Carolyn (Jerry) Boyd, Randy (Wendy), Richard (Celeste), Sandy (Charlie) Young, Kenneth Russell (Kim), Joseph, and Jason; thirty-two grandchildren; forty-six great-grandchildren; four great-great- grandchildren; two brothers, Don Bishop and Loren Clemmons; three sisters, Edith Ownby, Judy Junkins, and Catherine (Howard) Maddux; and many nieces, nephews, family and friends.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 2, 2020, in the Cantlon-Otterness & Viets Funeral Home with Bro. Russell Crouch officiating. Escorts will be her grandsons. Interment will be in the Lone Rock Cemetery under the care and direction of the Cantlon-Otterness & Viets Funeral Home of Buffalo. Visitation will be from 12-2 p.m. Sunday at the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Grandma’s House in Harrison, Arkansas, the Alzheimer’s Association, or the Lone Rock Cemetery.
