Obituary of Harlan Clay Pannell

Dr. Harlan Clay Pannell August 28, 1931 - May 07, 2018 Dr. Harlan Clay (H.C.) Pannell’s time in this world expired on May 7, 2018. H.C. was born in Tucumcari, NM, August 28, 1931 to Julia Emeline King Pannell and Herman Clay Pannell. His parents were teachers in Logan, NM at the time of his birth. In 1937 the family moved to Lovington, NM where he lived during his school years. His parents were educators in the Lovington school system for over 25 years. In Lovington, H.C. was active in all sports and a member of the Lovington High School basketball team that won the New Mexico State Basketball championship in 1949. H.C. served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War and was honorably discharged on September 15, 1953. Following his discharge he returned to the University of New Mexico where he earned a Bachelors Degree and continued his education at the University of Colorado Medical School in Denver, Colorado. In 1955, he met and married Jean Glaze from Albuquerque, NM. He received his medical degree in 1960 and performed his medical internship at Bernalillo County Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM. In 1961, H.C. opened a private general practice in Lovington, NM and formed a partnership with Dr. Hershel Douglas. In 1966 Dr. Douglas and H.C. volunteered for a three-month medical assignment under the American Medical Association in Vietnam. H.C. spent three months in the Nha Trang Provincial Hospital providing surgical care to the local population. He returned to his private practice in Lovington, NM for one year, but returned to Southeast Asia as a medical doctor for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In this position he provided direct medical care to agency personnel and dependents in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Okinawa, and Taiwan. He also was responsible for medic training for paramilitary units, which the CIA operated in Southeast Asia and other operational duties. In 1970, H.C. was instrumental in constructing and staffing a small and well-equipped 100-bed mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) unit about 35 miles north of Pakse, Laos on the banks of the Mekong River. Within four months H.C. had the MASH unit operational and providing services to the Cambodian and Thai refugees. In recognition of these accomplishments he was praised in a speech given by Dr. Valentin de los Reyes, MD, chief Surgeon and team leader of the staff. Dr. Harlan C. Pannell, a doctor of Medicine, a just and simple human being, yet not lacking in ideals and foresight. From him this hospital owes it’s existence; with him, the staff draws inexhaustible moral support and never-ending gratitude. In 1973, H.C. married Trang T. Pannell and returned to the United States where he was Associate Professor in the Family Medicine Department at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX (UTHSCSA). He briefly returned to private practice in Lovington, NM from 1975 - 1977, but then took a job with Bechtel Corporation as the medical officer for construction activities in Saudi Arabia. He served in that position until 1988 when he returned to San Antonio, TX and again was Associate Professor at the UTHSCSA providing medical care to patients in the acute care clinic. In 2000, H.C. and family moved to Kingsland, TX and he continued to work part time at Ft. Hood Army Base providing care for military personnel and dependents. In 2015, H.C. moved to Leander, TX where he settled and retired. H.C. is survived by his wife of 45 years, Trang T. Pannell; his sister Ruth Pannell Robertson; his children, Susan Pannell Wilson and husband Sam, Steven Clay Pannell and wife Regina, Sandra Pannell Schindler and husband Dave, Corrine Lenske, Louis Pannell, Margaret Dubbin and husband Mark, and Brian Pannell and wife Valerie; 11 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. His father, Herman Clay Pannell and his mother, Julia Emeline King Pannell of Lovington, NM, precedes H.C. in death. Private services were held. A celebration of life will be held in Lovington, NM at the Lovington Cemetery on June 30, 2018 at 10:00 am. Lovington arrangements are by Kirby-Smith-Rogers Funeral Home. Condolences may be sent to www.kirbysmithrogers.com. In Lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the New Mexico Junior College Pannell Library Fund; NMJC Foundation, 5317 Lovington Highway, Hobbs, NM 88240, online www.nmjc.edu/givingtonmjc/foundation/donation.html, or by calling 575-492-2780.