1927
William
2013
William Harper
October 20, 1927 — November 4, 2013
WILLIAM J. HARPER (Bill), age 86 of Chagrin Falls, OH ~ beloved husband of Linda Harper; dear father of William J. Harper, III of Greensboro, NC, James S. Harper (Kei) of Denver, CO, Robert C. Harper of Ottawa, ON Canada and Melinda E. Harper of Crested Butte, CO; dear stepfather of Gennifer Johnson (Scott) of Woodstock, IL and the late Michael Szego (Julie); dear grandfather of Eric, Myriam, Alexander, Emile, Nicholas, Sarah, Matthew and Emily; Mick, Courtney, Julia, Wyatt, Hunter, Solomon and Ryan; dear brother of Eleanor "Hap" Kidder (Fred) of Cleveland, OH and the late Mary Miller and Barbara Handke; dear brother-in-law of Sherrie Weitzenhof (Dave) of Bath, OH ~ sadly passed away November 4, 2013.
Bill, beloved son of William James and Beulah Patchke Harper and their youngest of four children, was born in Hamburg, NY on October 20, 1927 prior to moving to Shaker Heights, OH after a short stay in Youngstown, OH. Upon graduating from Shaker Heights High School, Bill enlisted in the Army Infantry for 1.5 years in the Korean Theater (1946 - 1947) following his father who served in the Army during World War I. After serving his country, Bill went on to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1947 - 1951), where his father had graduated as an electrical engineer, to earn his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering degree while having fun with his "brothers" living at the Chi Phi Fraternity, Theta Chapter, where he remained an active alumnus until 2006.
Upon graduation, Bill returned to Cleveland, married Margaret Ellen Werntz Harper (Peggy) in 1951, had four children together, partook in church and community activities, joined Fork-n-Fiddle, bowled, liked staying fit at various athletic clubs throughout his lifetime and started his career at Bethlehem Steel before moving on to a short stay at Ford Motor Company - Cleveland Stamping Plant. From there, he then settled into his lifelong career of being a Sales Engineer; first with industrial equipment and then in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry.
After Bill's first marriage ended in the early 70s, he got involved with numerous singles activities, joined Suburban Ski Club, skied for 15+ years (Ohio, the Rockies, New York and Eastern Canada), played racquetball, continued bowling in various leagues and loved power boating on Lake Erie always having fun with family and friends. Bill also took an interest in cars and trains and enjoyed fishing, tennis, golf, jogging and relaxing in one of his favorite places, the sauna.
Ultimately, he met his dear wife, Linda Szego, where Bill had a wonderfully loving 30 years with her having just celebrated their 30th anniversary in September 2013. Together, they enriched each other's lives with a deep love, understanding and compassion from all they shared as husband and wife ~ "best friends." Bill and Linda enjoyed the arts (symphony and theatre) and traveled around the world these past 15+ years seeing and experiencing countless historic, romantic and exotic destinations and sites. They truly had fun together.
Bill was a "playful" adventurer ~ a "free spirit" ~ who lived a very full and blessed life with all he experienced and grew from. He dearly loved and genuinely cared about his family always making that his priority to be the best husband, father and grandfather he could be ~ through thick and thin ~ providing his support, guidance and wisdom when needed. As the water currents of life ebbed and flowed, Bill always did his ever best to be pleasant, gracious and nice accepting whatever came his way. Bill truly was loved by all and will be dearly missed.
The family prefers that those who wish to make contributions in his name please do so to The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 40 River St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 or to The Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106. A Memorial Service will be held at Brown-Forward, 17022 Chagrin Blvd, Shaker Hts., OH on Monday, November 11th at 11 AM following the private family interment at the Lake View Cemetery Mausoleum.
PDF Printable Version
Bill, beloved son of William James and Beulah Patchke Harper and their youngest of four children, was born in Hamburg, NY on October 20, 1927 prior to moving to Shaker Heights, OH after a short stay in Youngstown, OH. Upon graduating from Shaker Heights High School, Bill enlisted in the Army Infantry for 1.5 years in the Korean Theater (1946 - 1947) following his father who served in the Army during World War I. After serving his country, Bill went on to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1947 - 1951), where his father had graduated as an electrical engineer, to earn his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering degree while having fun with his "brothers" living at the Chi Phi Fraternity, Theta Chapter, where he remained an active alumnus until 2006.
Upon graduation, Bill returned to Cleveland, married Margaret Ellen Werntz Harper (Peggy) in 1951, had four children together, partook in church and community activities, joined Fork-n-Fiddle, bowled, liked staying fit at various athletic clubs throughout his lifetime and started his career at Bethlehem Steel before moving on to a short stay at Ford Motor Company - Cleveland Stamping Plant. From there, he then settled into his lifelong career of being a Sales Engineer; first with industrial equipment and then in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry.
After Bill's first marriage ended in the early 70s, he got involved with numerous singles activities, joined Suburban Ski Club, skied for 15+ years (Ohio, the Rockies, New York and Eastern Canada), played racquetball, continued bowling in various leagues and loved power boating on Lake Erie always having fun with family and friends. Bill also took an interest in cars and trains and enjoyed fishing, tennis, golf, jogging and relaxing in one of his favorite places, the sauna.
Ultimately, he met his dear wife, Linda Szego, where Bill had a wonderfully loving 30 years with her having just celebrated their 30th anniversary in September 2013. Together, they enriched each other's lives with a deep love, understanding and compassion from all they shared as husband and wife ~ "best friends." Bill and Linda enjoyed the arts (symphony and theatre) and traveled around the world these past 15+ years seeing and experiencing countless historic, romantic and exotic destinations and sites. They truly had fun together.
Bill was a "playful" adventurer ~ a "free spirit" ~ who lived a very full and blessed life with all he experienced and grew from. He dearly loved and genuinely cared about his family always making that his priority to be the best husband, father and grandfather he could be ~ through thick and thin ~ providing his support, guidance and wisdom when needed. As the water currents of life ebbed and flowed, Bill always did his ever best to be pleasant, gracious and nice accepting whatever came his way. Bill truly was loved by all and will be dearly missed.
The family prefers that those who wish to make contributions in his name please do so to The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 40 River St., Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 or to The Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106. A Memorial Service will be held at Brown-Forward, 17022 Chagrin Blvd, Shaker Hts., OH on Monday, November 11th at 11 AM following the private family interment at the Lake View Cemetery Mausoleum.
PDF Printable Version
Guestbook
Visits: 42
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors