Era Mae Harper

Funeral services for Era Mae Harper, 90, of Richmond, will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, January 2, 2010 at the First Baptist church in Richmond. Internment will follow at Morton Cemetery in Richmond, Texas, followed by a reception at the church. Services will be officiated by Dr. John Lockhart and Pastor Matt Higginbotham. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Era Mae was born December 8, 1919 in McNeil, Mississippi to Bruce and Lula Spears Kennedy. Her father was one of the pioneering employees to open the Thompson Oil Field, so in 1932, young Era Mae moved by wagon into the Brazos River bottom of Fort Bend County. In 1937, after graduating from Richmond High School, she left home to attend Texas Womens University in Denton, but returned in 1941 to teach in the one room Rabb Ridge School in the Thompson Oil Field Camp. On August 25, 1947 she married George Byron Harper, who was employed in the oil field with Humble Oil. In 1955, after having three children, she began teaching at Jane Long Elementary in Richmond, later moving to Deaf Smith. While still teaching, she returned to school and received her Masters Degree in Special Education from the University of Houston. Teaching special education at M.R.Wood Elementary in Sugar Land, she was named Teacher of the Year, before finally retiring in 1975. In 1959 Era Mae moved with her husband to Richmond. Earlier, she had joined the First Baptist in Richmond, where she taught Sunday school and remained an active member for 58 years. She was a member of the order of the Eastern Star, holding a position of Worthy Matron. Late in life, after research showed a Kennedy ancestor had died at the Alamo, she joined the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Era Mae passed away December 30, 2009 at Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land. She is preceded in death by her parents, Bruce and Lula Kennedy; brothers, Clarence Aubrey Kennedy and Billy Earl Kennedy; and her grandson, Christopher Nolan Harper. Era Mae is lovingly survived by her husband of 62 years, George Byron Harper; children, George Albert Harper, Dennis Nolan Harper and Lola Margaret Collins; sister, Ruby Lee Isleib; grandchildren, Jeffrey Don Harper and wife, Dana, and Dennis Shawn Harper and wife, Renee; great-grandchildren, Laken Che Harper, Alissa Harper, Shaylah Garza and Hayley Marie Harper; along with other family members and friends. Memorial donations may be made in Era Mae's name to First Baptist Church in Richmond, Texas. For those wishing, tributes and words of condolence may be left for the Harden Family at www.davisgreenlawnfh.com. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Davis-Greenlawn Funeral Home, 3900 B.F. Terry Blvd., Rosenberg, Texas 77471. Phone 281-341-8800

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Era Mae Harper

December 8, 1919 - December 30, 2009