Loving husband for 68 years of the late Joy Harrell; beloved father of Fred (Terri) Harrell, Tedd (Joyce) Harrell, and Tammy (Bob) Titus; dear grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and friend of many.  Bob is survived by 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and two sisters.

Bob was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri.  His parents, five siblings, and Bob were musically inclined and the young Harrell family played and sang as a group at many Assemblies of God churches in the Springfield area.  Love of music and affiliation with the Assemblies of God were constants during his life.

In 1945, at age 17, Bob enlisted in the Navy near the end of World War II and served two years before returning to civilian life.   In 1952, he was recalled for service during the Korean conflict and was stationed at a Navy base on Tokyo Bay in Japan for one year.

After Bob’s second return to civilian life, and only six weeks after their first date, Bob and Joy were married in 1953 and began their family the following year. Bob’s career required a number of family moves and at various times, the family resided in Springfield, California, North Carolina, and St. Louis.  After retirement, Bob and Joy returned to Springfield and also enjoyed a winter home in central Florida for over 25 years.

Bob’s entire career was spent in the printing industry, beginning at the Gospel Publishing House in Springfield.  In 1959, he joined Western Litho Plate and Supply, a St. Louis-based printing supply company.  After assignments in California and North Carolina, Bob was appointed President of Western Litho in 1965 and returned to St. Louis for the balance of his career.

During Bob’s tenure with the company, Western Litho experienced a period of rapid growth and financial success.  He was instrumental in developing a variety of new products and processes and was listed as a co-inventor on a number of patents.  Bob always acknowledged and shared credit for the company’s success with his team of employees, including several family members, and a number of other talented colleagues who remained lifelong friends.

Bob traveled extensively during his career, calling on customers and attending or speaking at industry conferences.  Many times accompanied by Joy, his travels included trips to Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China and Hawaii, among others.

A child of the Depression, Bob learned the importance and satisfaction of hard physical work and ingenuity.  During their marriage, Bob and Joy owned 16 different homes or vacation homes, and those homes provided an almost endless supply of home improvement opportunities for Bob to tackle, usually single-handedly.   His projects included room additions, finished basements, boat docks and more boat docks, retaining walls, a sea wall, an RV storage barn, and on and on.

Bob’s other interests and adventures in life included woodworking and building furniture, golf with friends, raising cattle, co-owning a commercial egg-laying operation with his brother Jim, tending to his lawn and flowers, swapping tales with buddies over morning coffee, complaining about his mother-in-law, and making biscuits and gravy on Saturday mornings at the lake.

Bob was a man of integrity, kind, generous, a great storyteller and was loved and respected by his family and many friends.

A visitation will be held at 10:30 a.m., with services following at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at Maranatha Chapel. Burial will follow in Mt. Comfort Cemetery. Following the committal service, a luncheon will be served at the Maranatha Village Community Center.