Geraldine Hatley Harper

Mrs. Geraldine "Geri" Hatley Harper, 73, of Attalla, peacefully went to be with our Lord on Saturday, June 9, 2012, after a brief terminal illness.
Known by loved ones as "Mom," "Meme" or "Me Maw," she was born the youngest of four children, on April 26, 1939, in Etowah County, Ala., to Finis Belvin Hatley (Arab, Ala.) and Nellie Mae (Lumpkin) Hatley (deceased). She grew up in Walnut Park and Shannon, Ala., with brothers, Wayne Hatley (deceased), Jimmie Hatley (Attalla), and sister, Helen Franklin (deceased). She attended Emma Sansom High School. As a teenager, she worked at the General Electric vacuum tube plant in Oxford, Ala., where she met lifelong friends.
Mrs. Harper married the late Denford L. Harper, a career Marine decorated for Combat Valor and Gallantry, on Jan. 5, 1957, in Dade County, Ga. She led the honorable life of a loving wife and homemaker, Cub Scout den mother, sports mom and skilled Bunko player. While living in various parts of the country, she single-parented their three spiritually grounded sons during her husband's overseas military deployments. The couple was only separated by their wedding vow: "Until Death Do Us Part," in 1998. Mrs. Harper enjoyed hobbies and the leisure pursuits of quilt making, gardening and shopping thrift stores. She looked forward to entertaining friends, especially Ruth Turner and Ruby Thomas, being with family (Helen, Johnny Mack and Theresa Franklin) on the Alabama Gulf Coast, and traveling with Mr. John Barker (deceased) and Mrs. Jerry Barker from Georgia.
Mrs. Harper is survived by her father, Finis Belvin Hatley; three brothers, Jimmy Hatley, Terry Hatley of Cottondale, and Allen Hatley of Arab; three sons and daughters-in-law, Mark Harper of Clarksville, Tenn., Jeff Harper and wife, Tammy, of Attalla, and Andy Harper and wife, Tanya, of Chelsea, Ala.; and five grandchildren, Zachary, Erwin, Joshua, Daniel and Jenny.
We welcome all of our friends and extended family to the Morgan Funeral Chapel, 625 Gilbert Ferry Road S.E., Attalla, Ala., Tuesday, June 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to view family photographs and share fond memories. Funeral services will follow at Morgan Funeral Chapel at 1 p.m. with Chaplain Jackie Bentley officiating. Burial will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery, Attalla, where she will be laid to rest beside her husband of 41 years.
Honored as pallbearers: Daniel Harper, Erwin Harper, Zachary Harper, Joshua Harper, Tony Harper and Blake Tidwell.
Our family would like to express a special thank you to all of the lifelong friends who contacted and called upon our mother with offers to help her during her illness, including logistics and expenses to pursue the world's most technologically advanced oncology centers; to the churches and congregations acknowledging her on their prayer lists; to her faithful and loyal Dr. H. Patel, and his nurses and staff in Southside; to the University of Alabama Birmingham Kirklin Oncology Center; to the Gadsden Cancer Center, Dr. Castillo, and his nurses and staff; and finally to Alacare.
Don't worry Mom, we will be fine, we will see you again.