Obituary: Harry Lynn Terrell, USL Football 1976-80

Harry Lynn Terrell – June 6, 1959 – May 2, 2025
Funeral services for Harry Lynn Terrell, 66, of Port Barre, Louisiana, will be held at 11:00 am Friday, May 9, 2025, at First United Methodist Church in Pineville, with Pastor Mark Bray and Father Craig Scott officiating. The burial will be in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Ball, Louisiana, under the direction of Kramer Funeral Home, Alexandria. Visitation will be held at FUMC Pineville at 10:00am prior to the service.

Harry Lynn passed away at Calcutta Home Hospice of Acadiana, after a short but courageous battle with an aggressive autoimmune disease that rapidly robbed him of his independence.

He was born to Harry Olan and Melvalyn Conrad Terrell on June 6, 1958, in Bastrop, Louisiana and was baptized there at Greenacres Baptist Church. In 1969 his father began a management career with Southern Bell and his family moved to Winnfield, where a four-year residency gave him his first best friend, Mark Thomas. Harry Lynn graduated from Pineville High School in 1976, making the All-District Football Team and earning more lifelong friends, especially Lynn Antley and Ted Tuma. He received a football scholarship and attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), now known as ULL. Harry played the position of safety, earned his undergraduate degree in 1981, and became life-long buddies with Hal King and John Roveto. He graduated from Tulane University in 1994 with an MBA.

Harry’s working career began with Conoco and he remained a loyal employee, staying with them through their merger to ConocoPhillips and rising to the rank of Supply Chain Manager in Lake Charles. He truly enjoyed his career but was especially fond of the friends he made while there, including Dan Losey and “Kelly Mae” Gotz. He retired in 2014 and was enjoying life in the country in Port Barre, living on Little Teche Bayou and raising the biggest blueberries you’ve ever seen. He didn’t eat them but happily picked them in the hot Louisiana sun and delivered them to his sister. It was not unusual for him to show up on her doorstep with several gallons of freshly picked berries during the season. This love of cultivating blueberries can be traced back to his Grandpa Milton. He also loved raising chickens and harvesting their eggs, which he did eat! For several years he had a colony of feral cats, and he would assign humorous names to several of them, based on their personalities. He liked the cats mostly because he hated snakes, and they were good at alerting him. During his father’s illness, Lynn (as he was known to his relatives and childhood friends) walked the journey with him, taking him to nearly all his chemotherapy treatments and taking care of his parents’ home. After his father died, Lynn continued to take care of his mother’s home, doing all sorts of repairs and upkeep or anything else his mother needed; he was truly the best son. There was not much he could not do, and if he didn’t know how to do it, he would find a YouTube video that could explain it!

Harry Lynn’s children were his priority throughout his early adult years. His beautiful daughter Erica was tragically killed in a traffic accident in 2011 when she was 29, leaving behind two children and a hole in his heart that never fully healed. Harry Lynn loved fiercely and deeply, and he was deeply and fiercely loved in return. He chose his friends wisely; if you count yourself among them, that means something. He was selfless; always wanting to do something for others and never expecting anything in return nor any sort of recognition. He was extremely proud of his son Jason and his accomplishments, rarely missing any of Jason’s college baseball career. To Jason, he was the best dad he could ever have asked for, and in fact for years Jason gave him coffee mugs on Father’s Day that clearly stated that fact! To his sister Melva, he was the best brother, and she often mentioned that he would skip purgatory, not only because he was so good to everyone here on earth, but also because he had lived through many heartaches while here, the disease which claimed his life being chief among them. We know that Jesus was waiting with open arms to completely heal him.

Harry Lynn enjoyed attending his grandson Landon’s baseball games, watching the Tioga Indians capture the state title in 2019. He was very proud of his granddaughter Gracelynn because she has become a beautiful, loving teenager with strong values. He was also proud of his niece Morgan and was very supportive of her and her success in the SPERO program at LSUA.

Harry Lynn was preceded in death by his daughter Erica Lynn Terrell, his father Harry Olan Terrell, his paternal grandparents Wheeler Thomas and Edith Bell King Terrell, and his maternal grandparents Milton Eugene and Clara Bell Conrad. Those left to celebrate his life and cherish his memory include his son Jason Conrad Terrell (Amanda Miller); his mother, Melvalyn Conrad Terrell; his grandchildren Landon Michael Terrell and Gracelynn Mae Shockley; his sister, Melva Terrell Villard and her husband Marty; and his niece Morgan Marcelle Villard.

Amanda and Jason stayed with Harry Lynn until the very end, playing him Walon Jennings songs, telling old stories, and making sure he knew they were there during his final moments. Amanda’s strength and courage and her support of Jason were of great comfort to our family, and Harry loved her as his own.

Harry Lynn’s last advice to us: do not ignore subtle symptoms. Your body is trying to tell you something, and you should pay attention to it. Oh, and “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” He loved listening to Waylon Jennings and Jim Brickman.

Those honored to serve as pallbearers are Lynn Antley, Hal King, Dan Losey, John Roveto, Landon Terrell, Mark Thomas, and Marty Villard.

Memorials in honor of Harry Lynn can be made to the Special Program for Resources and Opportunities (SPERO; Latin for “I hope”) at LSUA, a program that aims to bring hope to the lives of young people with developmental disabilities—by providing them with the resources and opportunities that will help them lead more independent lives and take up meaningful and rewarding employment in their communities. A link can be found at SPERO | Louisiana State University of Alexandria . The mailing address is LSUA SPERO, 8100 Hwy 71 South, Alexandria, LA, 71302.

Special thanks to Dr. Rebecca Whiddon and her team at the NeuroMedical Center of Baton Rouge for their compassionate care during the past several months.

Posted by Ed Dugas May 27, 2025, with notification by Dwight Prudhomme.
Please click www.athleticnetwork.net > Photo Gallery > Football – then the 1976-80 years for the photo gallery of each season.

Peace, Ed Dugas
athleticnetwork@louisiana.edu