- Date Of Birth: June 12, 1940
- Date Of Death: February 8, 2022
- State: North Carolina
A greatly loved son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather, Jeff Phylas Hartsell, 81, of Albemarle, passed away peacefully with his wife Jane and family members by his side on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
Jeff was born June 12, 1940, in Albemarle, North Carolina. He was preceded in death by his father, Miller James Hartsell, his mother, Louise Richardson Hartsell, and his sister, Sandra Suzanne Hartsell.
Growing up in Albemarle Jeff loved to wrestle and scuffle with friends, run cross country, and lift weights. Jeff pushed himself every day to get stronger and run faster. He dreamed of wrestling competitively but Albemarle High School did not have a team. That all changed his senior year with an announcement over the school’s PA system “We are organizing a wrestling team”. Jeff was a naturally fierce competitor and would go on to win most of his matches that year, and was even offered a full wrestling scholarship to Pfeiffer University. However, there was only one college in mind for Jeff, The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina.
At The Citadel Jeff thrived and dominated in the sport of wrestling on the regional and national stage. He made the junior varsity team his freshman year and the varsity team his sophomore year. He was the colleges’ first wrestler to win the Southern Conference Tournament both in 1961 and 1962 and was voted “Most Outstanding Wrestler” both times. Jeff represented The Citadel in the NCAA Division 1 National Championship in Oregon, where he made it to the quarter-finals and was ranked 17th nationally. Jeff Hartsell put wrestling at The Citadel on the map and was acknowledged by sports media as the colleges’ first “elite” wrestler. In 2016, 54 years after his graduation, Jeff was inducted into The Citadel’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
After graduating from The Citadel in 1962, Mr. Hartsell continued his military career by enlisting in the US Army. He was transferred to the US Army Reserves, where he served for five years.
Jeff is survived by his loving wife and dance partner of 51 years, Jane Lowder Hartsell; sons, James (Diana) Fuller, Miller Jeff Hartsell, Coburn Phylas (Ayla) Hartsell: daughters, Carrie Louise Hartsell and Louisa Jane Hartsell. He is also survived by grandsons, Talon, Grant, and Benjamin; and granddaughters, Degan, Lillian Jane, Ana Louise, Millie, and Olivia Grace.
Mr.
The Hartsell Family would like to thank Hospice of Stanly the Uwharries, and the staff of Spring Arbor for their loving care and compassion for Jeff during his illness.
