Carol Mary Harrell

Carol F. Harrell

June 25, 1936 — April 11, 2026

Carol Mary Fitzpatrick Harrell, 89, of Plattsburgh, NY, passed away peacefully on April 11, 2026, at her home on Lake Champlain, surrounded by her children and devoted caregivers. In recent years, she had faced significant mobility challenges with courage, grace and determination.

Born and raised in Plattsburgh, Carol attended St. John’s Elementary and High Schools. While in high school, she met her future husband, Gerald “Jerry” V. Harrell. She next attended and graduated from Lasell College (now University) and then moved to Manhattan, where she attended the Katharine Gibbs School.

Carol and Jerry were married in Plattsburgh on May 6, 1957. They built a life centered on family, friendship and community, raising three children in Plattsburgh, where Jerry practiced optometry for more than 45 years. For much of their lives, Carol and Jerry lived next door to her beloved parents, Philip and Carolin Fitzpatrick.

In addition to her life’s work of raising her children, Carol was engaged in her community. She served for a number of years as President of the organization now known as the Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC), supporting the needs of developmentally disabled persons in Clinton County. Carol was an active fundraiser for CVPH Medical Center and she served on the Advisory Council for the Miner Institute.

Carol co-founded the Skating Club of the Adirondacks in Plattsburgh and maintained a lifelong interest in figure skating.

Carol loved cooking and gathering with friends, including those she met through her local gourmet cookery club, Stone Soup. Carol played in tennis leagues at the Bay Club, and she and Jerry also enjoyed playing at Pelican Bay in Naples, Florida, where they spent many winters alongside a large group of their dear friends.

Carol also found great joy in gardening, though the North Country’s growing season did not always cooperate.

She had an eye for design and took an avid interest in both architecture and interior design. Carol took special pride in creating the dream home that she and Jerry commissioned on Lake Champlain in the early 1990s.

She was predeceased by her husband of 63 years, Jerry, and two of their children, Michael Warner Harrell and Meagan Fitzpatrick Harrell, who passed away as infants.

Carol is survived by three children, Michael Harrell of New York City, Noelle Harrell of the Washington, DC area, and Erin Harrell of the San Francisco Bay Area; her brother, Dr. William F. Fitzpatrick and his wife, Judy Fitzpatrick, of Placitas, NM; her sister, Sheila Fitzpatrick Geoghegan, of Boston; her brother-in-law, Richard Harrell of Santa Rosa Beach, FL; and many members of the extended Harrell, Howell, and Fitzpatrick families.

Burial will be at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Plattsburgh. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The ARC Foundation of Clinton Country or to Hospice of the North Country. Arrangements are with Brown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh.