Chester Thomas 'Tom' Harper, 92

Chester Thomas "Tom" Harper, 92, passed away on March 10, 2007, at the BeeHive in Kootenai, Idaho.

Tom was born Oct. 1, 1914, in Bayshore, N.Y., to Chester and Mabel Harper, the third of four children. He married his high school sweetheart, Katharine (Kay) Curtis, in 1941 and they had three children. Tom was a quiet, gentle man with great sense of humor, an avid reader, loved his naps and was always there for his family.

In the 1940s, Tom worked for Fairchild Aviation in NewYork , was involved in making pre-fab homes (the first in the country) around 1946 in Hagerstown, Md., and also drove for Allied Van Lines during that period. In 1952 they moved to Long Beach, Calif., where Tom owned and operated Harper Sales, Inc., manufacturing nuts and bolts for various companies.

In the mid-1950s, they moved to Garden Grove, Calif., and Tom worked as an engineer for Thompson Products (which became TRW) in Van Nuys, Calif.

Tiring of the 100-mile daily commute, Tom went into real estate and eventually got his broker's license.

Tom retired in 1976 and moved to Palm Desert, Calif., where they enjoyed warm desert winters, cool Big Bear summers, lots of golf and trips in their motor home.

In July 2001, they moved to Sandpoint to be near their daughter and son-in-law. They resided at Alpine Vista, The Bridge and the BeeHive. A big "thank you" to the BeeHive for the wonderful care and love they have given to Tom for the past year and a half.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters and his son, Donald. He is survived by this wife, Kay; daughter, Marge (John) Keating; son, Rick (LeeAnn) Harper; brother, Dan (Ruth) Harper; seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces

Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements.

Please visit Tom's memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign his online guest book.