Luther Harper

I have a lot of memories of my Uncle Luther, starting from listening to his music during my childhood throughout my life. I used to stay with Uncle Luther, Aunt Barb and the girls every summer.  They moved to California but that didn't stop me from visiting.  I would save my money all year and fly  to California in the summer.  One particular summer, my sister Sandy and my friends Val, Geneva and Kathy wanted to go too. I called Uncle Luther and Aunt Barb to tell them I wanted to come out but so did 4 other girls.  They just said pack up and come on!   We didn't need any more urging than that, so we packed.  I think about that now and realize there were 5 of us, 3 girls of his own and my Aunt Barb. He had nine girls in his house!!  He probably had a really hard time even getting to use the bathroom!  That was my Uncle Luther and I loved him very much.  I hope he has found the rest of our family where he has gone.  Until the day we meet again, he will forever be in my heart.  Uncle Luther, give my Dad, Steve, Granny, Rick and the rest of the family my love, they too are forever loved!

I have so many fond memories of my dad.  I am so thankful for that.  At his memorial service I told the story about him giving me my first car when I turned 16.  How he picked me up in the rain in this 1974 Honda Civic and half way home he told me the car was mine.  How he got that car for me by doing roofing side jobs because he wanted me to have a car.  He was there when I graduated from high school.  He didn't cry (like my mom did) when my husband (Marshall) asked them if he could marry me.  He walked me down the isle when I got married.  He was there when my first child was born.  And he was there for me and my sisters when our mom passed away.  I will always remember his singing.  He had a beautiful voice.  He was the life of the party. And all those jokes.  How could he remember all of them???  I will remember his smile most of all.   

Some of my fondest memories of Uncle Luther was his pickin the guitar and singing.  When I was younger, he was in a band called the "Hillbilly Rock Band" and played at "The GinMill".  He also got together with the other band members and they picked and sang at each others houses.  When I hear old songs by Jonny Cash, George Jones, and others it stirs these memories and brings me back to a very happy time and I'm just a child again.  I love it.  As he got older, he still sang his heart out.  He would get up and sing with a band or just kareoke.  He loved to kareoke and sing George Jones and I loved to listen to him.