Wallace Claude "Wally" Harrelson
Wallace C. “Wally” Harrelson, 74, of Julian, NC, died Tuesday, February 8, 2011, at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, after a brief illness.
A Service of Remembrance will be held on Saturday, February 12, 2011, at 12:00 noon at West Market St. United Methodist Church in Greensboro, with private burial to follow in Cherryville, Gaston County, NC.
Wally Harrelson was born in Gaston County, NC on Nov. 5, 1936, as the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Stacy Harrelson. After growing up on a farm during the years of the Great Depression and World War II, Wally graduated from Cherryville High School and went on to attend Duke University, where he received his undergraduate degree in political science in1959 and his law degree in 1962.
Upon being called to The Bar, Wally came to Guilford County, where he initially worked as a solicitor/prosecutor in Domestic Relations court, as well as engaging as a part-time lecturer in history and political science at Pfeiffer College in Salisbury. He later entered the private practice of law with the firm of Hampton, Comer, and Harrelson.
In 1970, Wally was appointed by Gov. Bob Scott to serve as Chief Public Defender for the Eighteenth District (Guilford County). Although he was the first to serve in such a capacity in the state of North Carolina, it was a position to which he was continually reappointed and held up to the time of his death, a tenure in excess of 40 years which spanned the administrations of seven governors, seven Guilford County District Attorneys, and five local Senior Resident Superior Court Judges. As proclaimed in a recent resolution enacted in his honor by the Greensboro Criminal Defense Lawyers, “Wally set the standard for indigent defense in the State of North Carolina (and) fought tirelessly to ensure the highest quality of legal representation across the State.” For over twenty of those years, Wally personally represented each defendant assigned to his office charged with murder or violent sex offenses, and managed a staff of dozens of attorneys and support personnel in Greensboro and High Point. The Resolution also noted that during his time in office, Wally “aggressively hired the highest quality of legal talent to serve as his assistants, (many of whom) have gone on to highly distinguished careers as private practitioners, prosecutors, judges, and other public officials….The influence of his protégés is felt in every aspect of legal practice in Guilford County and throughout the State.” Wally also proudly served the legal profession in a number of capacities, as president or executive officer in the N.C. Association of Public Defenders, the Greensboro and 18th District Bar Associations, founder of the Greensboro Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Chief Justice’s Advisory Committees on Defense of Indigents and Administration of Justice.
Wally’s efforts, compassion, and reach extended well beyond the courthouse, however. He served his community in positions of civic leadership as Chair of the Area Mental Health Board, Youth Services Bureau (now Youth Focus), Board member of the Center for Creative Leadership, Women’s Day Care Center (now Summit House), and Fellowship Hall, Inc., a residential and outpatient nonprofit treatment center for chemical addiction and recovery.
Perhaps Wally’s most prominent contributions to public life were in the arenas of local, state, and national politics. A longtime rural precinct chair, Wally was chosen to serve as Chairman of the Guilford County Democratic Party in 1982. Over the ensuing decades, Wally served as District Chair for several presidential campaigns, and as a delegate to five Democratic National Conventions; he was especially pleased in his last days to learn that next year’s event will be held close to his childhood home in nearby Charlotte. In 1992, Wally was elected to an at-large position on the Board of County Commissioners, over which he presided as Chair during each year of his four-year term of service. Through his leadership, Wally and the Board were able to enhance educational and economic opportunities for Guilford County citizens through oversight of the newly consolidated Guilford County School system, expansion of existing commitments to provision of human services including the Guilford County Partnership for Children and public resources such as the dedication of new portions of the Guilford County Courthouse and of an inpatient chemical addiction treatment facility at Gibson Park between Greensboro and High Point, and a balanced private/public policy approach to commercial recruitment and development, for the goal of benefitting all the citizens of the County.
Throughout his career, Wally received a wide acknowledgement of commendations for his service and contributions to public life, including recognition as Lawyer of the Year by the GCDLA; Order of the Long Leaf Pine, as conferred by Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr.; and, more recently, the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award.
Wally was predeceased by his parents, and leaves as survivors many cousins, nieces, and nephews, but his true legacy remains in those whose careers and lives he impacted through his life of commitment and service to others, who will benefit perhaps unaware of his efforts, and in those who in gratitude will once and always Hail the “Chief.”
Wally’s friends and family wish to thank Dr. Norrins and Dr. Wright for their care and efforts on his behalf.
Visitation will be held from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm on Friday, February 11, 2011 at Forbis & Dick North Elm Chapel. Memorials may be directed to Fellowship Hall, Inc., at P.O. Box 13890 Greensboro, NC 27415 or to the charity of one’s choice.