Obituary of Melvin Harvey Harper

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MELVIN H. HARPER Melvin Harvey Harper, son of Harvey and Marie (Brassfield) Harper, was born May 12, 1923, in Milan, Missouri, and passed away at the Norton County Hospital on July 19, 2010, at the age of 87. Melvin grew up in Goodland, Kansas, and graduated from the Goodland High School. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard. On September 8, 1948, he married Betty Jean Cayton in Oakley, Kansas. They made their home in Oakley, Colby, and Hays before moving to Norton, where Mel worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone for 42 years. Betty passed away September 9, 2006. Melvin was a member of the Masons, American Legion, Eagles, and the Rotary Club. He also enjoyed hunting, fishing, and gardening. Survivors include: four children, James Harper and Wanda Daniels, Norton; Linda Melaine Molzahn, and husband, Dennis Molzahn, Independence, Missouri; Marilyn Harper, Shawnee, Kansas; and Lynn Harper, and wife, Denise, Norton; six grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; five sisters, Joyce Dean, Oberlin, Kansas; Lucy Ackerman and Carol Tupper, both of Goodland; Erma Alger, Dodge City, Kansas; and Linda Hawks, Yreka, California; other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, three brothers, and three sisters. A memorial has been established to the Melvin Harper Memorial Fund. .