Bernard D. Harper 1906 - 2006

HARPER, ISOM, PEARSON

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-volunteer (email)
Date: 1/25/2017 at 00:47:46

Sioux City Journal
23 February 2006

ONAWA, Iowa -- Bernard D. Harper, 99, of Onawa died Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2006, in Onawa.

Visitation will be 10 a.m. Friday at Rush Family Care Service in Onawa. Masonic graveside services will be in Magnolia Cemetery, Magnolia, Iowa.

Bernard was born Dec. 31, 1906, to Adeline Lucy (Isom) and Elisha Harper, the sixth of eight children. He was born in Moorhead, Iowa, where his father owned and operated a livery stable. His childhood was spent on a farm near Pisgah, Iowa. At the age of 19, he began working on the "section," laying and repairing track for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad.

He married Wilma Pearson in 1930 and moved to Onawa in 1938. He worked in the round house, turning steam engines and filling them with coal and water. He became a telegrapher in 1942 and worked in various communities as a relief agent during World War II. He retired as a depot agent in Onawa in 1973, after 48 years of service.

After retirement, the couple enjoyed spending time with friends and relatives and frequently wintered in Mesa, Ariz. He had many wonderful friends in the Onawa community, often assisting him in later years. He was an avid golfer even well into his 90s. He was a member of Community of Christ Church, a 50 year member of the Vesper Lodge 223 A.F. & A.M. in Onawa and the Abu Bekr Shrine in Sioux City.

He is survived by a daughter and her husband, Marilyn and Roger Hocking of Oceanside, Calif.; six grandchildren; great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Edna Wiltfong of Pisgah, Iowa, and Virgene Pearson of Council Bluffs, Iowa; a brother-in-law, Melvin Pearson of Missouri Valley, Iowa; four nieces; two nephews; and many supportive friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife; a daughter and her husband, Naomi and Dick Reynolds; a grandson, Rick Reynolds; a grandson-in-law, Cole B. Shatswell Jr.; a great-great-grandson; his parents; two sisters; and five brothers.