Harold E. Raper

1927 - 2016

Harold E. Raper
1927-2016
Harold E Raper passed away on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, waiting until his family went home before gently moving on in the wee hours of the morning. He was 89 years old. He was born (or hatched, as he would say) May 26, 1927 in his grandmother's house in Bloomington, Nebraska, to Edward J and Erma L Raper. His parents divorced when he was five years old, and for several years he lived with various relatives, including grandparents. In 1938, his father put him on the train to Boise where he would join his mother. He had a loving stepfather, W. Ab. "Bottie" Maule, who served as a wonderful influence in Harold's life. He graduated from Boise High School in 1944, and attended Boise Junior College for a year before entering the Army in 1945. He served in the XXIV Corps in Seoul Korea as part of the occupational force until February 1947. He met the love of his life, Yvonna Roe, while in junior high school. Her brother Bud Roe was his best buddy. Harold and Yvonne's love affair really didn't bloom until after his return from Korea, and they were married on November 30, 1947. Out of this union came three children: Doug (Bonnie) Raper; Peggy (Bill) Blackburn; and Mark (Kris) Raper. He also had nine grandchildren: Todd Raper, Kristin (Justin) Jackson, Jessica (Scott) Hamilton, Angel (Sherman) Kester, Brandie (Pete) Kruger, Jenny Blackburn, Marnie Raper, David Raper, and Peyton Sasser. He had 8 much loved great grandchildren and would have welcomed a great-great grandchild in April, 2017. His professional career over the years was quite varied, beginning with the Veteran's Administration Hospital in the Purchasing Department. From there he went to the Idaho First National Bank where he worked as head bookkeeper. It was about this time that he met Theodore Hoff who had a sawmill in Horseshoe Bend. He was hired as the mill bookkeeper; 28 years later he was still with the company as Vice President of Finance and Executive Vice President. After his tenure with Hoff Lumber, he owned his own bookkeeping business and sold insurance in Garden Valley, Idaho. He worked as Production Manager of a large Mill in Prairie City, Oregon, in the late 1980's. He began working for Idaho State University in the Distance Learning program while in his 70's and continued working there until he was 86. Harold served for over 10 years as Chairman of the Horseshoe Bend Village Board, was a member of the Horseshoe Bend School Board for three years, and clerk of the School Board for nearly 10 years. He served as Boise County Commissioner from the Horseshoe Bend District from January 1995 until January 1999. Harold was a member of Grace Lutheran in Horseshoe Bend for most of his adult life, and helped to build the current church structure; he was also a member of Oriental 60 AF&AM. After living with his youngest son, Mark, for 16 months, Harold moved to Shaw Mountain at Cascadia in Boise for skilled nursing care. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Shaw Mountain for their loving care of Harold. In his last few days, there were many stories told about his good nature, his friendship and sense of humor and his concern for others. He will be missed by so many. Harold was preceded in death by his beloved Yvonna, in 2005, and also by his parents, step-father, and his sister Bobbie. A viewing will be held at Bowman Funeral Home in Boise on Wednesday December 28th from 5-7pm. A graveside service will be held in the Horseshoe Bend Pioneer Cemetery on Thursday December 29th at 3pm; with refreshments following at Grace Lutheran in Horseshoe Bend. Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Lutheran Church in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho.