Wednesday, December 6, 2000

Charlie Harper

A few years ago I wrote a story about someone in the Prime Timer pages who touched my life. When I first talked with Charlie Harper and his wife Mamie, he was running for the office of tax commissioner. He lost the election, but I gained a friend.

Charlie always had a kind word, a bit of humor or a tidbit of wisdom to share with me, and with others. Although he suffered from diabetes and related side effects, he was a regular attendee at the Republican breakfasts, collecting money at the door, helping out where he could. He smiled and continued on when many others would not have.

He and Mamie lived in Fayette County for their entire married life, raising four children in the county. Harper worked as a field auditor for the federal government for "22 years, four months and nine days."

After retiring, he bought what became a local landmark in Fayette County, Travis Hardware, which he owned for ten years. After selling Travis Hardware, which is now closed, he went to work with J. Crumpler and Associates for six months prior to opening his own accounting firm.

He loved to fish and watch baseball, saying he would have made a good baseball coach since he was always trying to out-manage the coaches. Harper was active at Bethany United Methodist Church and was a member, and past master, of the Fayetteville Masonic Lodge. He was also a long-standing member of the Kiwanis.

Charlie Harper touched many, many lives in Fayette County. We lost a good man and a good citizen Thursday evening.

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