‘He helped shape Rock Hill’: Longtime city council member dies at 74
Hugh Harrelson, a longtime Rock Hill City Councilman who played a major role in shaping the city’s growth and prosperity, has died.
A lawyer for almost five decades, Harrelson died late Thursday after an illness, said his son, Leland Harrelson. Hugh Harrelson was 74.
He was mayor pro tem and council member for 16 years, from 1980 to 1996. During that era, Rock Hill began to grow from a small city into the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina.
“Hugh Harrelson always believed in doing things the right way - with competence and pride,” said York County Family Court Judge David Guyton, a former law partner of Harrelson. “He was so picky about details. He helped shape Rock Hill.”
Harrelson decided not to run again, after winning several consecutive terms, to devote more time to his family and law practice. Harrelson was law partners at different times with former South Carolina senator Wes Hayes, and current Rock Hill mayor John Gettys.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Harrelson was a key city figure in upgrading economic development and city services, including fire protection, according to archived stories from The Herald in that era.
He also was an advocate for opportunities for all city children. In one council meeting in 1996, before he left office, Harrelson spoke out against proposed cuts to the Boys & Girls Clubs and other groups that helped children succeed.
“This is an investment in our young people - our future,” Harrelson told city leaders in 1996.
He also served as president of the agency that later became the York County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs, and was on the board of the York County United Way. He was a member and deacon at Oakland Baptist Church.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 1:16 PM.
