Grafton Sharpe Harper

Grafton Sharpe Harper, 58, of Santa Monica, California passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at his California home. Grafton was born in Louisville, Ky on May 18, 1964, the son of Clarice Carol Sharpe and Spencer E. Harper Jr.
He attended Chenoweth Elementary and Kentucky Country Day Schools. With an early interest in photography, Grafton took photos for and helped to edit the Kentucky Opera's "Libretto" quarterly and worked summers at Ray Schuhmann's Click Clinic and Kinetic Corp photography studio. He was proud to be for several years an official photographer of the Kentucky Derby. He went on to graduate from the University of Chicago with a BA in Geophysics and a minor in Cinema Studies. Moving to Los Angeles to pursue his interest in photography, film studies and motion picture production, he completed an MA in Cinema Production and Writing from USC School of Cinematic Arts. Later Grafton's interest in the program management and strategic innovation side of the media and entertainment industry led him to obtain an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Grafton's early interests in the visual arts, automobiles and travel were the key themes of his life. Starting with a summer internship at Kinetic, Grafton was captivated by photography and film. He chaired DOC films at the University of Chicago, the nation's oldest film screening society. After spending a year on a Harvard sponsored program studying the film industries in India, China and Europe, Grafton moved to LA to attend USC. There he built a multifaceted career over the course of 36 years around his interest in film and motion picture production (including the completion of a feature-length thesis film, ROGUE MOON), and eventually the commercial side of the media and entertainment business. Along the way, Grafton also got to know Hollywood from an inside view – as a program coordinator at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
After graduating from the Anderson School, Grafton was recruited by Ernst & Young where he met his life partner, Elizabeth Van Denburgh, and began an entirely new and happy adventure. His consulting work at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Parson Consulting allowed him to use his creative abilities in project and program management with major entertainment clients. At his death, Grafton was Controller at Blue Skies Consulting where he worked with senior management on strategy, operations and reporting.
An interest in classic cars -- collecting them, rebuilding them, showing them off at rallies -- was a lifelong passion. This he often combined with travel, which he enjoyed with Elizabeth, and shared with friends and family through annual calendars. His animated stories about tours and classic car driving trips were always wonderful to hear.
Grafton's commitment to community service revealed both his compassionate and empathetic nature and his skills as a good listener. He worked for many years with several organizations including the Suicide Crisis Line of the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Services where he served as a Supervisor, the Board of the Girls & Gangs organization which helps girls involved in the Juvenile Justice System re-enter society, and the Jonathan Club Art Foundation, a California impressionist art exhibition gallery, where he was President and served on the Board of Directors He thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Jonathan Club, enthusiastically participating in numerous activities from weekly Toastmasters meetings to taking boxing lessons to exercising biweekly at the beach club with Elizabeth and club friends. Grafton was also a proud member of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Kentucky, the Sons of the American Revolution and the Charter Collectors of the Speed Museum.
Grafton loved Freemasonry. He relished the philosophy and decorum of the fraternity, including the collegiality of men who shared similar ideals and values, whom he may never have been able to meet and befriend otherwise. He was a major force in the Santa Monica Palisades Lodge. As Lodge Secretary, he had an eye for detail and simplifying complex problems. His wit, humor and civility were welcome features at their meetings and the brothers highly respected his opinions and perspectives.
Throughout his life, those who met Grafton were enriched by his intellectual curiosity, empathy and kindness. He will be greatly missed.
Grafton is survived by his mother, Clarice Carol Sharpe Harper of Louisville, his brother, Spencer Harper III of New York, NY and his love, Elizabeth Van Denburgh of Santa Monica, California. He was preceded in death by his father, Spencer E Harper Jr.
Visitation will be at Pearson's, 149 Breckenridge Lane, on Wednesday May 31, 2023 from 4 to 7pm. A Memorial Service will be held at Pearson's Chapel on Thursday, June 1st, at 2pm, with a graveside service following at Cave Hill Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Pendennis Club, beginning at 4pm.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in Grafton's memory may be made to the Speed Art Museum, the Kentucky Opera, the California Masonic Foundation (1111 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, memo to The Masonic Homes) or any charity of the donor's choice.
Arrangements under the direction of Pearson's, "Where Louisville Goes to Remember".