Jeffery Harper, 49

Jeffery Alan Harper, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., passed away peacefully in his home on Jan. 20, 2017. He was 49 years, 7 months, and 3 days old. Jeff was born June 17, 1967, in Cottage Grove, Ore.

He is survived by his parents, Annie Alexander Harper of Sandpoint, Idaho, and Jim Harper of Winchester, Ore.; a daughter, Valaree JoAnn Harper, her mother, Terri Harper, and beloved dog “Bud” of Port St. Lucie; sister Julie Swaffar-Jones (Kevin) and their children, Rebecca Ann and Alexander John Jones of Sandpoint; aunt Virginia Rawson, California; and many cousins; nephew Adam Farmer Georgia and niece Brianne Fatzinger (Patrick); and four great-nieces and nephews of Florida. Jeff was preceded in death by his grandparents, Roy (Tex) Alexander, Jessie Tucker, and Velda Harper; four uncles and two aunts; and cousin Cindy Alexander LaPorta on his mother’s side.

His early years were spent with his Mom and sister in Salem, Ore. He was a Boy Scout, played baseball and rode motocross by the age of 5. Stock car racing started his passion for the track. A Raider fan since he could walk, but he loved the Packers. His mother would bring Jeff and Julie back to Sandpoint every summer until they made it their permanent home. Jeff attended Farmin Stidwell and Sandpoint High School. Jeff boxed for the Elks and played baseball. He made lifelong friends growing up in Sandpoint. Jeff loved riding motorcycles and skiing Schweitzer, anything that sounded fun or dangerous he wanted to do it.

At 18, he went to Alaska to fish. He returned home after an accident losing the tips of two fingers, long enough to plan a trek to Huntington Beach with a pack of guys from here to become surfers, movie stars and get rich; they did.

Landing next in the Los Angeles area to be near his cousins, Jeff met Terri Engh. He spent time working in several trades before becoming a piledriver in the early 1990s. He worked at Litehouse Dressing, roofing, construction, insulation and bracing all over the West Coast. If it was hard work Jeff was ready. He lived to build bridges, being a member of Piledrivers Locals 34 and 2375 Los Angeles and San Francisco for many years.

In 1997, Jeff and Terri married and moved to Idaho. In 1999, they had their only child, Valaree JoAnn. Valaree was Jeff’s whole world.

Returning to California and working as a piledriver Jeff was severely injured in a fall on the San Mateo bridge. Later in 2003 after some time of healing, Jeff moved to Florida to be with Terri and Valaree and another chapter of his life began.

Jeff made lifelong friends and raised his daughter the last 13 years, returning home every summer with Valaree to be with family and friends. Jeff loved fishing, golfing and the beach, He did not like to shovel snow. Nascar was one of Jeff’s passions Daytona was his track and Jr was his boy. Jeff golfed every chance he had and loved his golf buddies. In 2015, Jeff rode his Harley across the United States, visiting everyone he could both ways.

Jeff loved life, spur-of-the-moment fun and never missed an opportunity to share a laugh. He was the guy you could call day or night and he would lend a helping hand. He was a loving son, brother, father, uncle and cousin as well as a loyal friend. Jeff was a one-of-a-kind and he touched many lives while he was here. If you met Jeff, you couldn’t help being taken by his humor and charm. Jeff lived life on his own terms, he lived it up and he laughed it up, saw more in his short time on this earth than most. If you spent any time with Jeff you have a story. Until we meet again at the end of the trail. Forever in our hearts.

A memorial will be held in Port Saint Lucie on Feb. 4, 2017. A celebration of life will be held in Sandpoint on June 17. In lieu of flowers, anyone who would like may make a donation, please go to gofundme.com/3ac1v7s; all donations will go to Jeff’s daughter Valaree.