Setsuko Harper

Setsuko Harper, age 84, a resident of The Colony, TX, passed away Sunday evening in a Plano, TX hospital.   Born in Okinawa, Japan, she met her late husband, James H. Harper, who worked in the Civilian Service for the US Military and married on August 25, 1969.  Shortly afterwards, she moved to Arkansas where, with limited knowledge of the English language, she worked very hard to earn her Beautician's license.   As a wife of a career Civilian Servant, she and James raised their family all over the world mostly in the Far East moving from Korea to Japan and Hawaii before retiring in 1992 in Lorena, Texas.

She was always busy and loved being with people and helping them.  At one time, the family lived in Vernon, TX which is a small, West Texas town in the heart of Tornado Alley.  Setsuko worked in the local hair salon and befriended many in town.   In 1979, a tornado tore through Vernon, and Setsuko spent hours helping her friends pick through the debris of their business and homes including her friend who owned the local Chinese restaurant.

Setsuko lost her beloved James in 2004 and moved to the Dallas area to be closer with her children.

She is survived by her son, Susumu Harper of Kaufman, TX and two daughters, Deborah Handley-Griffin of Riverside, CA and Torri Snyder of The Colony, TX.  She is also survived by her eight grandchildren; Dustin Harper, Cory Harper, Nichole Handley-Griffin, Danielle Handley-Griffin, Connor Farmer, Rileigh Snyder, Gavin Snyder and Megan Snyder.

Memorial Services for Setsuko are pending and she will be inurned beside her husband at Waco Memorial Park in Waco, TX.