Katharine 'Kay' Curtis Harper, 92
Katharine 'Kay' Curtis Harper, 92, passed away in Sandpoint, Idaho on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at the Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint with the Rev. Joel Swartzel officiating.
Kay was born on Oct. 18, 1915, in Bridgeport, Conn., to Walter and Grace Curtis.
She married Tom Harper in 1941 and they moved to Kingston, New York, where Tom was working. They had a son, Donald, and a daughter Marjorie, while living in New York.
In 1946 Tom's job took them to Hagerstown, Md., where the family enjoyed living on a farm in the country. In 1951, they move to Long Beach, Calif., where their second son, Richard, was born, before finally settling in Garden Grove, Calif., for the next 23 years.
In 1957, Kay found the job she loved working as the city clerk for the city of Westminster, Calif. In her 21 years of service, she never missed a day of work, and upon retiring, the city gave her $10,000 for perfect attendance.
That was pretty amazing considering the many council, planning and zoning, beautification, and founder's day meetings that she attended after work every month. The city also recognized her many contributions by declaring Feb. 16, 1971, as 'Kay Harper Day.'
In 1978, Kay and Tom retired in Palm Desert to enjoy the desert life of golf, swimming, and tennis, in addition to traveling in their motorhome. To escape the summer heat, they had a place in Big Bear.
Kay missed working and volunteered in the gift shop at Eisenhower Medical Center and was soon working full-time in the donations department at EMC. Kay worked another 10 years and retired again at age 74.
In July 2001, Kay and Tom moved to Sandpoint to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law and resided at Alpine Vista for three years before moving to The Bridge. Kay loved living at The Bridge, especially when she could dance at the musical socials with her special friend, Jim. Kay's last two months of her life were spent at Life Care due to a broken hip.
Special 'thanks' to all the caregivers and physical therapists at Life Care who took such good care of her.
She is survived by her daughter, Marge Keating of Sandpoint; a son, Rick (LeeAnn) Harper of Ventura, Calif.; seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren; and a special friend, Jim McCauley of Sandpoint.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Tom Harper; two brothers, Stan and Fred Curtis; a son, Donald Harper; and a son-in-law, John Keating.
Memorial donations may be made to the Panhandle Animal Shelter, 1604 Great Northern Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864.
Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Kay's online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign her online guest book.