Promoted to Glory: Major Harvey F. Harwell, Sr.

Major Harvey Harwell was Promoted To Glory on September 26, 2022, from his home in Waco, Texas. Born on March 26, 1934, in Terrell, Texas, Harvey Frank Harwell was the seventh child of ten raised by Wylie & Lucy (Campbell) Harwell.

Harvey was a toddler when his dad moved the family to Abilene, Texas in search of work. It was at the Abilene Corps that eight year-old Harvey encountered The Salvation Army. The large family was experiencing difficulty, and one of the soldiers of the corps brought a box of groceries to help out. Harvey was enamored by the uniform worn by the lady who ironically would eventually become his mother-in-law.

He began attending corps activities, where he developed a relationship with Wilma Killam. Years later, they married on September 22, 1951. Harvey dedicated his life to the Lord during an evangelistic campaign at the corps, and soon after, while serving as youth leader, he heard the call to Salvation Army Officership. Harvey and Wilma entered the training college in 1963 as members of the Proclaimers Of The Faith Session of cadets. Upon commissioning in 1965, they were appointed to Littlefield, Texas. In 1968, they were transferred to Laredo, Texas.

While in Laredo, he learned to speak Spanish in order to communicate with the people under his care. As a result, he was later asked to accompany relief teams following a severe hurricane in Honduras and, later on, to Guatemala after a devastating earthquake.

Subsequent corps appointments followed to Wichita Falls, Galveston, Texarkana, and San Angelo—all in Texas. He also served as area commander for Galveston County, Texas and then to Fayetteville, Arkansas. His final corps appointment was to Enid, Oklahoma. Prior to retirement on March 31, 1999, the Harwells served as Texas divisional evangelists.

In retirement, Major Harwell was chaplain at the Waco William Booth Gardens Apartments, and as corps sergeant-major at the Waco Corps for many years.

Major Harwell is preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, his daughter Carolyn, and his beloved wife of 67 years, Wilma. He is survived by sons, Major Harvey Frank (Eunice) Harwell II,  and Major Philip Mark (Jan) Harwell, as well as a son-in-law, Gary Leandre. He also leaves three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Salvation Army Texas Association of Retired Officers to support its various mission projects and activities. A Celebration of Life occurred on Monday, October 3, 2022, at the Waco Corps, with internment at Restland Cemetery in Dallas.

—Major Frank Duracher