George Franklin Harper, age 86, of O'Fallon, Missouri passed away on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 in O'Fallon, Missouri. He was born in Saint Louis, Missouri on December 26, 1936 to George and Wilma Harper (nee Cluck).
George definitely marched to the beat of his own drum, and encouraged others not to worry about what other people think of them. He was a generous man who worked hard, played hard, and loved those around him with his full heart and soul. He was a fun and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather and a true friend to so many people. When he set his mind to something he accomplished it, and the word "can't" was not part of his vocabulary. He raced motorcycles, stock-cars, dragsters, and loved to spend hours in his garage restoring old cars and helping family and friends by repairing or painting their car. He had a story or a joke for everything and every situation, loved to laugh and make others laugh, and could fix anything that was broken. George would rather sit at the kids' table than with the adults, talk about Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop instead of world events, and was most comfortable in his tattered jeans and a T-shirt from one of his car club events that he loved to attend with his wife, Betty. He will be greatly missed, and his humor, passion, generosity, uniqueness, and love will live on forever in the many lives that he touched.
George is survived by his Wife, Betty L. Harper; Children, Gary W. (Herek Clack) Harper, G. Daniella (Eric) Cowle, and Bob L. (Jeanie) Harper; Brother Jim (Karou) Harper and Two Sisters, Judy (Pat) Hughes, Joan (Jesse) Adkins; Ten grandchildren, JoyceAnn Cowle, Nathan (Emilia) Cowle, Zeke Cowle, Raya Cowle, Gretchen (James) Sherwood, Grace (Chris) Philipy, Tia (Franco) Burzio, Keegan Harper, Aidan Harper, Amara Harper; Two great-grandchildren, Harper Sherwood and Ian Philipy; and a host of other family members and friends.
He was preceded in death by his Parents, George and Wilma Harper; and Two Brothers, Robert (Pat) Harper and Kenneth (Keta) Harper.
Memorial Service will be 5:00 pm Saturday, November 11, 2023 at St. Peters Chapel, Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions, 837 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters, Missouri 63376. Visitation will be from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm at St. Peters Chapel. The family requests that people attending the visitation and service dress casually and, if possible, wear his favorite color, purple.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the non-profit organization, Rafiki Collaborative. The funds will be used to support programs for disenfranchised youth living in Kisumu, Kenya.
Click Here to donate online. If you prefer to write a check for your donation, please make the check payable to "Rafiki Collaborative" and send it via US mail to the following address:
Rafiki Collaborative
c/o Neubauer
2531 Haymond St
River Grove IL 60171
To share a memory of George or leave a special message for his family, please visit the guestbook below.