Georgia Harrell

Georgia Jones Harrell, age 82, formerly of Murray, KY, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2022, in Franklin, TN.

She was born on July 2, 1940, in Faxon, KY to Holman Jones and Treva Colson Jones. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 57 years, Philip Harrell. She is survived by a sister, Allegra Jones and brother Guinn (Diana) Jones, a favorite cousin, Mary Ann Boyd McManus; and her best friend and sister-in-law, Barbara Ray Harrell, all of Murray.

Additionally, she is survived by her five children: Phylis Harrell (Mark) Newsom, of Franklin, TN, Brent Harrell, Jana Harrell Knight, and Brad (Rhonda) Harrell, all of Hopkinsville, and Joel (Shannon) Harrell, of Murray; nine grandchildren: John (Kristine) Newsom, of Denmark, Peter (Julia) Newsom and Gabe Newsom, of Franklin, TN, Brooke Knight (David) Bryan, of Hopkinsville, Christopher Knight, of Louisville, Mahala Harrell and Joseph Harrell, of Hopkinsville, Seth (Hannah) Harrell and Reed Harrell, of Murray; and three great-grandchildren: Cheyenne and Shelby Knight, of Louisville, and Maura Bryan, of Hopkinsville.

She was a graduate of Murray High School and attended Murray State University before marrying and beginning her family.

She was a homemaker in the truest sense of the word. When asked what she did for work, she'd quickly say, "I raised five children" - and she did so on a schoolteacher's salary – and in a three-bedroom, one bath home.

Consequently, she was creatively resourceful in her efforts to manage a home and family on a budget. On even the coldest winter nights, the thermostat control was set at a nippy 65 degrees. She shopped with coupons, added breadcrumbs to ground beef to make it go further, and could stretch a pizza crust thin enough to read a newspaper through – which everyone considered to be crispy perfection.

Following in her mother's footsteps, she was an excellent cook. Guests raved about her homemade pizza and, for those sleeping over, the homemade donuts she made for breakfast (frosted in the guest's favorite color). Her homemade yeast rolls were always requested for family gatherings and church dinners - and her Holiday Pumpkin Roll was such a hit, she began to take orders and sell them to earn a little Christmas cash.

She loved to read and instilled the love of books into her children by taking them to the Hopkinsville Carnegie Library on a regular basis and allowing them to check out the maximum number of books - as long as they read each book they took, so they did.

One of her favorite family activities was camping between the rivers in the area where Phil's father, grandfather and great-grandfather were raised. During summer vacations, she would spend the week laundering bedding, washing cookware and shopping for the weekend ahead, when the family would pack camping gear and dirt bikes and head to Turkey Creek for a weekend with their Harrell cousins.

From an early age, she was also a talented seamstress. When her daughters came to her with a photo of an outfit or a prom dress from the pages of Seventeen magazine, she would make a pattern and create the very same design. She also made beautiful patchwork quilts for family members and friends, doing all the quilting by hand until health issues eventually forced her to retire her needle.

She always made everything special, and no one was more special than she. She created a warm and welcoming home for the family she loved and raised and made lifelong friends of her neighbors in the Alumni Avenue area of Hopkinsville, where she lived for over 20 years.

While in Hopkinsville, she was a Girl Scout Leader, served on the charter Steering Committee for University Heights Academy, and volunteered at HHS, UHA, and the SOS shop. After moving back to Murray following her husband's retirement, together they volunteered with the Between the Rivers publication and helped to clear debris from LBL area cemeteries.

She was a faithful member of Glendale Road Church of Christ and involved with the Young at Heart group and her Ladies' Bible Study class.

She loved Jeopardy, The Big Bang Theory, and old movies – especially musicals – and, most of all, her beloved Kentucky Wildcats Basketball. She also loved the entertainers who visited the center where she lived, who all knew her by name as she often requested that they play "Georgia on my Mind".

Friends and family have called her loving, kind, thoughtful, inclusive, and a sweetheart - and all these words are true. She was special to and will be greatly missed by everyone who was fortunate enough to know her.

The family would like to thank the staff of and her friends at Clayborne & Hughes Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center for the love and care that they provided over the past six years, as well as the palliative care team at AccentCare Hospice for their thoughtful attentiveness in recent weeks.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services. John Dale and Bro. David Harrell will officiate, and burial will follow in the Ledbetter Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 12:00 p.m. till 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at the J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
Online condolences can be made at www.thejhchurchillfuneralhome.com

J.H. Churchill Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.