Myrtle Brown Harper, 87, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Thursday, March 29, 2018, at her residence.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Saturday, March 31, 2018, at Central United Methodist Church in Fitzgerald, with the Rev. Dr. Richard Wright, the Rev. Dr. Buddy Cooper and the Rev. B. J. Funk officiating. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery, in Fitzgerald. The family will receive friends, Friday evening, from 6 PM until 8 PM, at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mrs. Harper was born May 10, 1930, in Rhine, Georgia, to the late Tom & Mary Lou Studstill Brown. She graduated from Rhine High School and later attended Georgia Southwestern College, the University of Georgia and Valdosta State College earning her Masters degree. Mrs. Harper touched many lives as an educator for 49 ½ years, mostly teaching 3rd grade. She began her teaching career in Rhine and moved to Fitzgerald in 1952 following her marriage. She then taught at Lynnwood School and later at Ben Hill County Elementary School following consolidation of the City and County school systems. Mrs. Harper loved to travel and enjoyed sharing that love with her grandchildren. She enjoyed an around the world cruise and many other travel adventures. Mrs. Harper was past president of the Fitzgerald Pilot Club and was instrumental in establishing the Anchor Club at Fitzgerald High School. She was active in the Ben Hill-Irwin Retired Educators Association. A lover of history, Mrs. Harper was a member of the Nathanial Abney Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the Ben Hill Chapter #1137, United Daughters of the Confederacy. She was a very active member of Central United Methodist Church where she was a member of the Golden Believers Sunday school class and the UMW Circle #1.
She is survived by her son, Louis E. Harper, Jr. of Fitzgerald; grandchildren: Jeanie Leigh Harper of Fitzgerald, Emily Joy Harper of Saint Simons Island and Louis E. “Bo” Harper, III & Mary Catherine of Pensacola, Florida and a great-granddaughter, Turner Jacquelyn Harper of Pensacola, Florida. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Louis E. Harper, Sr.; her daughter-in-law, Jacquelyn Davis Harper; two brothers: Arcey Brown and Raiford Brown and a sister, Mary Clare Wynn.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to Central United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 428, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.