Ethel Harper
A chapel service for Ethel Harper, 91, Washita County resident, was held Monday in the Kiesau Memorial Chapel of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home, officiated by Patrick Peters. A private burial was held in the Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford.
Ethel (Traudt) Harper was born May 1, 1923 to Henry and Katherine (Sitzman) Traudt on a farm located between Corn and Weatherford. She died early Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014, in the Angelwood Assisted Living Center in Clinton.
Ethel’s grandparents and her mother migrated from Russia and settled in Corn in 1894. She was raised in the Corn Community and attended her schooling there. At a young age she moved to Weatherford, where she was employed by Owl’s Photo.
One afternoon a young military man who had just returned from the war asked her out for a cup of coffee, and the rest is history. She was married to Frank Harper on March 3, 1951 and headed to California where Frank had family.
They honeymooned for a short time there and then they made their home in Cordell for a short time.
They soon moved to Cowden, where they farmed for several years with Frank’s brother, Jack. Ethel worked alongside Frank on the farm as well as babysat for many of the youngsters around Cowden.In 1994 failing health required Frank to retire, and they moved to the Cordell Retirement Village where she lived for about 20 years. Her husband eventually had to go to the Cordell Christian Home.
She often said, even though they lived through some very rough times while farming and times of ill health as well as the problems that arose from her husband being a prisoner of war; she was always with and beside her husband.
After her husband preceded her in death, she recently moved to Angelwood.
She was an active member of the Cowen Methodist Church.
Also preceding her in death were a sister, Ruth Schmidt, and an infant brother, Herman.
Survivors include four sisters, Josephine Giles, of Claremore, Genevie Ratliff, of Waco, Texas, Edna Moses, of Yukon, and Clara Horn, of Corn; and nieces and nephews, Jackie and Trecia Harper, of Cordell, John and Judy Morris, of Arlington, Texas; great-nieces and nephews, Julie and Steve Gathers, of Weatherford, Kyle Harper, of Cordell, Joel and Tabita Morris, of Charlotte, N.C., and Janna Morris, Rockwall, Texas; great-great nieces and nephews, Taryn and Hunter Gathers, of Weatherford, and Juliana Morris, of Charlotte, N.C.; and special friends, Pat Moore, of Cordell, and Fran Bryan, of Clinton.