Shirley Elizabeth Harper

1927 - 2019

RYE - Shirley Elizabeth Harper died peacefully and surrounded by her family on Friday, August 9, 2019, just short of her 92nd birthday, at Portsmouth Regional Hospital; she was a long-time resident of Rye, N.H. Shirley was born on August 28, 1927 in Springfield, Massachusetts, the only child of James Henry Cartmill and Mabel Matilda Maria (Bauch) Cartmill.

She attended grade and high school in Springfield. Because she wanted to help with the war effort, she signed up people for ration books while still in high school. Shirley graduated from Classical High School in 1945. She joined the Cadet Nurse Corp; she received her nursing training at Massachusetts General Hospital, School of Nursing.

At the end of World War II, she moved to Nashua, N.H. to do private duty nursing. While there, she joined the Civil Air Patrol as a 1st Lieutenant and served as the medical officer.

In 1955, she married Alfred Brooks Harper, Jr. They were married for 56 years; he predeceased her in 2012. Her husband's work took them to New Jersey where their three daughters were born and later to Portland, Maine where their two sons were born. When her children were young, she was active with the PTA and the Brownie Girl Scouts.

Al and Shirley moved to Rye, N.H. in 1983 where she joined the board of the Rye Woman's Association, the Rye Driftwood Garden Club, and volunteered as a greeter at Fuller Gardens for several years. She was a member of the Rye Over 55 Club for 30 years and, with her husband, helped to plan local and over-seas trips that took them to Hawaii, Alaska, Portugal, Great Britain, Finland, a trip on the Rhine, and many more places. In 2005, she volunteered as a Senior Serve Caller and did this for 15 years; these callers check-in weekly with seniors, who live alone.

Shirley is survived by her children: Elizabeth Ann Harper of Hallowell, Maine; Wendy Sue Harper and her wife, Robin Hopps of Monkton, Vermont; Nancy Ellen Harper of Westbrook, Maine and her daughter Emily Elizabeth Cleary of Culver City, California; Scott Harper of Rye, New Hampshire; and Christopher Robert Harper and his wife Susan (Brooks) and their two daughters, Grace Mary and Faith Rose, of Belgrade, Maine; as well as her sister-in laws, Nancy Page and her husband Robert of Latham, New York, and Rachel Garcelon of Yarmouth, Maine.

SERVICES: A celebration of her life will take place at the Rye Congregational Church on 580 Washington Road, on August 24 at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers please make contributions to the charity of your choice.