James "Andy" Marion Harrell, Jr. (1913-1997) was born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, the son of James Marion Harrell, Sr. and Edith (Willey) Harrell. James, Jr. served in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, as well as working for a railway express company and flour mill. Later in life, James, Jr. was blinded in one eye and worked for many years as a crossing guard at 27th and Louisiana Streets in Lawrence.

On September 21, 1941, James, Jr. married Lois E. Bailey (1920-2018), who grew up in Kansas, graduating from DeSoto High School before attending Lawrence Business College. The couple had six children: Virginia, Joanna, Joyce, Pam, James, and Michael. After James, Jr. became disabled, Lois worked in the Classics Department at the University of Kansas for 15 years.

James Marion Harrell, Sr. (1862-1935) was born in Douglas County, Kansas, marrying Edith Edna Wright (Willey) Harrell (1875-1941) in 1906. He worked as a carpenter and was the son of John Hiram Harrell II (1805-1867), who had been born in South Carolina to John Hiram Harrell I (1772-about 1848), and Catherine A. (LeMasters) Harrell (1824-1901), who had been born in Ohio. The Harrells had five children: John Hiram, Sarah Jane (Harrell) Moore, Ruth Eveline (Harrell) Macy, David Benjamin, and James Marion, Jr.

Edith (Willey) Harrell's father was John Wesley Willey II (1836-1902), who had been born in Charles County, Indiana and who had married Nancy Wright Prather (1839-1902) in Franklin, Kansas in March 1862. Edith had been born in Virginia, and her family had moved to territorial Kansas in 1855. The couple had 9 children, who included Solon F., Amelia Charlotte, Arthur A., Silas Clinton, John Wesley, and Vance Athon, in addition to Edith Edna.

[Information retrieved from findagrave.com.]