Don Harrell saved countless lives.
It says so in his obituary, which was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Dec. 23.
The words are near the end: "He saw the best in everyone, and even against resistance, was able to help people see it in themselves. Through his experience, strength and hope, he saved countless lives."
"I don't want you to gloss over that, because that is a very big part of Don's life and his legacy," said former U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. "He literally did save lives through his work with [Alcoholics Anonymous]. Don just meant so much to so many people."
Mark Pryor spoke Wednesday at a memorial service for Harrell at the Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock.
Harrell died Dec. 18, somewhat unexpectedly after struggling for several months with a variety of health problems, according to his obituary. He was 80.
Harrell grew up in Camden with Pryor's father, former U.S. Sen. David Pryor.
It was the kind of small town where the annual coming of the circus was announced by a parade of three decrepit elephants being shuffled down Washington Street, David Pryor wrote in his autobiography, A Pryor Commitment, which was co-authored by Harrell.
"Any kid who didn't stick his toe in the piles of fresh dung left by the elephants was a sissy," they wrote.
David Pryor and Harrell remained close their whole lives.
When David Pryor was elected governor in 1974, Harrell served as his press secretary and speech writer. Later, when Pryor was elected to the U.S. Senate, Harrell was his chief of staff.
Harrell then moved to New York City, where he worked for more than a decade as director of external affairs for TIAA, a higher-education retirement fund. He retired in 2003.
David Pryor attended the memorial but didn't speak to the crowd of about 100 people. He suffered a stroke in 2016.
Harrell's talent and intelligence might have shown even brighter had he not been in such close proximity to David Pryor, who was "arguably the most popular Arkansas politician of the modern era," according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.
Harrell was Art Garfunkel to Pryor's Paul Simon, except they remained close.
"For many years, I got up in the morning and looked forward to going to work because I would be with my best friend, Don Harrell," David Pryor said in an email.
"My life has been blessed and enriched because of a lifelong friendship with one of the finest human beings of our time," Pryor said. "From our boyhood days in Camden, to the state Capitol in Little Rock, to the United States Capitol in Washington, we stood side by side. We understood each other so well that we were able to communicate effectively just by looking at one another. His death has been hard on me and I miss him terribly."
Former President Bill Clinton didn't attend the memorial but said he remembered Harrell.
"Don Harrell gave his intelligence, enthusiasm, kindness and great good humor to a lifetime of worthy causes," Clinton said in an email. "I worked with him for over a decade when he served David Pryor when he was governor and U.S. senator. He did a fine job for David, and for the people of Arkansas. His efforts enriched countless lives and inspired all of us who were lucky enough to know him."
At the memorial Wednesday, Steve Ronnel said he got an education from Harrell. Ronnel worked with Harrell in Pryor's Washington office and later became a White House aide to Mack McLarty, chief of staff to former President Clinton.
"Don Harrell mentored me in a classroom setting for this world-class education in politics, in agendas and in life within the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. David Pryor on a staff assembled and guided by Don Harrell," Ronnel said. "After Sen. Pryor had won re-election in 1984, Don oversaw the tripling of Sen. Pryor's staff as David Pryor rose in the ranks to be the chairman of four Senate committees and subcommittees and landed a coveted spot in the Senate leadership. When Don hired me in 1990, Sen. Pryor was coasting to re-election to a third term unopposed, a spectacular feat. ... These were exciting times, and Don Harrell managed all of this from behind the scene with a calm demeanor."
Harrell received his bachelor's degree from Hendrix College in Conway. He later earned master's degrees in international relations from American University and in English from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He earned his doctorate in English from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
Harrell was a voracious reader who wrote essays for Runner's World, the Christian Science Monitor, and New York Times Magazine, and he was a regular book critic for the Houston Chronicle, according to his obituary.
He also did a stint as a U.S. Capitol police officer, but they wouldn't let him have any bullets for his gun, Mark Pryor said.
Harrell also was a grounded person, Tom Courtway told the crowd.
"He always knew what was important and more importantly knew what wasn't important," said Courtway, a former president of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. "Don really had a double dose of human nature."
At the end of the memorial service, a film was shown of Harrell's 1992 Senate staff farewell party.
Although he was the one leaving, Harrell gave his boss a yellow raincoat.
It was a symbolic gift, a remembrance of a childhood past.
David Pryor put on the jacket as Harrell told the story.
Harrell said he was 5 years old and not yet "housebroken." Everyone in town knew it, but nobody said a word, at least not to Harrell.
One night, Harrell was spending the night at Pryor's house, where he would be bunking with David Pryor. But Harrell had stayed up late.
When he pulled back the covers to get into bed, Harrell said, the 9-year-old David Pryor was lying there sound asleep wearing a yellow rubber raincoat.
Metro on 02/21/2019