Mary Elizabeth Harrell

November 27, 1930 — August 6, 2024

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Bolchoz Harrell of Charleston entered into eternal rest Tuesday, August 6, 2024.The relatives and friends of Mary Harrell are invited to attend her Mass of Christian Burial 11:00 AM Monday, August 12, 2024 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 5 St. Teresa Drive, Charleston. The Rite of Committal will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery on James Island.

Mrs. Harrell was born November 27, 1930 in Charleston, SC. She was the only daughter of the late Frederick William Bolchoz and Elizabeth Agnes Manning. She was the niece of the late Monsignor John L. Manning. Mary graduated from Bishop England High School in 1948. She went on to graduate in 1952 from Misericordia College in Dallas, Pennsylvania with a classical degree in Latin and French. Mary was also very involved in the college music program as a pianist. Upon graduation, she was an educator in the Charleston County Public School System at Chicora High School in North Charleston. It was at Chicora High that Mary started her lifelong career in music.

After moving back to Charleston from college, Mary soon met the love of her life, Allen Lamar Harrell, MD. The two met during Allen's first year of medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina. The two married following his internship at City Hospital, St Louis, Missouri in 1957. She and Allen would go on to have six children.

Mary's love of liturgical church music began at St. Patrick's Catholic Church as an organist when she was a teenager. After moving back to Charleston from Statesville, NC, where her husband practiced Pediatric Medicine, she became the Minister of Music at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. She then moved to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church as the Minister of Music for the next 26 years, retiring in 2005. For many years after retirement, she remained very active as a member of the Adult choir until 2019.

Mary was not only involved in her church obligations, but also in the parochial schools where all six of her children attended. She volunteered endlessly in the snack and lunch programs at Blessed Sacrament School and Bishop England High School. There were countless fundraising events and Membership duties in the schools' Home and School Associations. Mary also spent years teaching piano lessons to neighborhood and school children.

Mary was a founding member of the Perpetual Adoration Society at Blessed Sacrament Church up until her death. She was also a past member of the Charleston Symphony Singers' Guild directed by the late Emily Remington. Mary felt that her greatest achievement and enjoyment was that of being wife and mother. Allen and Mary were married for 57 years up until his death on January 12, 2015. They raised their six children with a stern hand and an amazing tangible love with Christ being its cogwheel.

Next to her role as spouse, mother, and musician, Mary dearly loved her tightknit group of friends from her childhood and young adult years. She was an avid reader and bridge player. She and her bridge girls played monthly up until a decade ago. Mary and Allen took many wonderful trips with their friends and Mary's brothers. She and her brothers remained very loyal and close until the end.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Allen Lamar; her son, Allen L. Harrell, Jr., her grandson, Joshua Manning Carter; her brothers: Dr. William M. Bolchoz, Frederick W. Bolchoz, Jr., Earl A. Bolchoz, Laurence S. Bolchoz, Ruford J. Bolchoz, and John R. Bolchoz.

She is survived by her five daughters: Mary Allyson (A. Daniel) Moring of Batesburg, Erin Elizabeth (James H.) Carter, Jr. of Summerville, Julianne (Dr. George H.) Khoury of Mount Pleasant, Lori Harrell Jacques of Charleston, and Kathryn Anne (Frank S.) Dabney of Charleston. Mary, affectionately known as "Mimi", is also survived by her 16 grandchildren: Matthew Allen (Kyleigh) Harrell of Spartanburg, Christopher Lamar (Autumn) Harrell of Spartanburg, and Christina H. Sutherland of Columbia; Elizabeth M. (John) Anacker of Woodbine, Maryland, Robert Daniel Moring of Charleston, Johnathan Tucker Moring of Chesnee; James H. (Sydney) Carter Ill of Chesnee, Rachael Allyson Carter (Patrick) Cristal of Summerville; George Hasham (Emily) Khoury, Jr. of Mount Pleasant, Andrew Paul Khoury of Charleston, and Zachary Allen Khoury of Washington, DC; Clinton Harrell Barabas of Bluffton, and Margaret Manning Barabas of Charleston; Frank Scott Dabney II, Benjamin Allen Dabney, and Anna Virginia Dabney, all of Charleston; and 16 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her lifelong friend and caretaker, Louise L. Mitchell of Huger. Our enduring heartfelt thanks and love go out to the Carter May family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Father McCarthy Catholic Education Fund at Blessed Sacrament Church, 7 St. Teresa Drive, Charleston, SC 29407.