Clara HARPER

HARPER, Clara Mar 29, 1937 - Nov 14, 2025 Clara Mae McGill Harper was born March 29, 1937, in Mt. Pleasant, TX, to Tom McGill and Eulastine Elliot Burton. She passed away peacefully at home on Friday, November 14, 2025, in Spokane, WA. She accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior at an early age. When she relocated to Spokane, WA, she joined Morning Star Baptist Church, where she served the lord faithfully until her health started to fail her. She attended the White Oak School and later graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, Mt. Pleasant, Texas, Class of 1956. Later, attended Texas A&M University before leaving Texas to join her high school sweetheart, Lee Harper Jr., in Merced, CA, where they were married on March 5, 1958. She traveled the world with her husband, who was in the Air Force. To this union, four children were born: Sylvia L. Harper of Spokane, WA, Carla D. Harper of Charlotte, NC, Lee A. Harper of Seattle, WA, and Judy A. Harper, who preceded her in death in 2004. She was preceded in death by her ex-husband; her parents, Tom McGill and Eulastine Elliot; sisters, Earlene Donaldson, Margretta Brooks, Pat Henrietta Williams, Tommy Byrd, Eula Williams, and Grace Evelyn Mosley; brothers, Edward, Bombus, Jonnie, Milton, Henry, Charles, Melvin, Rufus, Willie Ray, and Leon Shine. She leaves to cherish her memory her brothers, James Otis McGill (Beverly) of Denver, CO, and Louis McGill of Sulphur Springs, TX; her sisters, Jo Ella Thornton of Mt. Pleasant, TX, and Lavornia Jean Shine of Dallas, TX; her children, Sylvia L Harper, Carla D. Harper, and Lee A. Harper (Doug); grandchildren, Dana Harper (Catherine) and Traci Young; great-grandchildren, Taylor, Julian Harper, Zane Harper, and Taleah Rose Harper. She instilled many values within her family. If you ever needed a helping hand, she was there to offer it, whether you needed food, money, or a place to live. Our house is where the neighbor kids would come and hang out and never leave. She served as a surrogate mother to many children throughout the community. She taught Sunday School and owned a ceramic shop, where she would hold workshops for kids in the eastside neighborhood. She worked for the US West telephone company as an Operator and later a night shift Supervisor, and retired after 25 years of service. She led by example and will truly be missed. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 10 AM at Hennessey Funeral Home and Crematory. Followed by the committal service and burial at Greenwood Memorial Terrace at 12 PM.