Carol Yvonne Harper

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, A heart that forgives the worst, A mind that forgets the bad and a soul that never loses faith in God. That was my Momma.

Carol Yvonne (Percival) Harper passed away December 26, 2023 in her home after a courageous battle called life. She was a warrior.

Carol was born in Lawrence Kansas on July 12, 1935 to Leo and Mildred (Flory) Percival. She was the oldest of three. She is survived by her children Charles (Darren) and Dana of Camdenton and Jayna and Matt Collins of Morrisville and step grandson Jacob Collins. Her siblings Keith and June Percival of Linn Creek, their daughters Janet (Gary) Dugdale and Nancy (Mike) Menges; David and Vivian Percival of Montreal and their sons Jason (Holly) Percival and Jeffery (Cindy) Percival, sister n law Maxine Miller of Bendena, host of nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends who were considered family.

Carol was preceded in death by her husband Arthur (Carl) Harper, her parents Leo and Mildred Percival, in law’s Della and Arthur E Harper, sisters in law Edyth Norman and Freida Harper and several special aunts and uncles.

Carol was born in Kansas, but grew up in Missouri and Iowa. She graduated from Camdenton High School in 1953. She met Carl in high school, and he knew the way to her heart was by having a sharp pencil at the ready.

Carol held several different jobs during her life; she was a medical assistant, legal secretary for several local attorneys and judges, secretary for Carl Bolz insurance agency, artist, cake decorator, supporter and friend. Most importantly wife and mother.

Carol was most proud of being a Christian. She loved the Lord with all of her heart, and did almost everything she could to make sure she would see you again in Heaven. She was always so proud to be a daily bible reader. She loved singing in church and singing acapella. She was known for her beautiful soprano voice. She most always had a word of encouragement for those she met.

Carol was an avid reader, was always very curious and loved to learn something new or travel somewhere new. She was always very supportive of trying new things or traveling for new adventures. Darren and I always had to call her at the end of the day and let her know we made it home safely, no matter where the adventures took us.

Carol always had an open door. Growing up it wasn’t uncommon to have our house full of people we didn’t know. If you had a need, she would try to help. We frequently had stranded travelers, friends, neighbors and family around the table for meal time. No one ever left hungry, we never went without. We had one main rule at the dinner table; you can reach for anything on the table as long as you kept one foot on the floor.

Carol loved the beauty of the outdoors; she had binoculars to watch the birds, loved going to Bennett Springs or the gasconade river, driving down to bagnell dam in the spring to look for Eagles. She enjoyed having a flower garden, watching the hummingbirds on her porch, and the cattle and calves in the fields. When it was sunny and warm, if she was at home, and she didn’t answer the phone, she was sitting on her front porch, watching.

Carol was busy most of the time. She was involved with the senior center, senior housing and development, the local art and craft clubs, Beta Sigma Phi, Farm Bureau, the Republican Committee, church, taking friends to appointments, you name it and she was probably doing it. She served on the Farm Bureau board for many years; she loved supporting the students in FFA. She was a staunch Republican Supporter and didn’t mind telling you. She made sure that from a young age, we all knew that we could do anything we put our mind, time, energy and effort in. She always told us “No one is better than you, everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time” this was especially true when we were in Jefferson City at the governor’s mansion or at the republican rally’s and fish fry’s.

Carol’s thinking in life was to forget about the bad stuff and keep going. Several years ago, her memory started to fade, slowly, she didn’t remember the day to day things, didn’t remember events or activities we had done, people she had seen or talked with. She would tell us it was nothing to worry about, she just didn’t want to remember the bad stuff or that she had never had a great memory. She did a great job of hiding the bad stuff. She became very frail the last few months, she fought for every step and every minute she could stay at home. As a family we decided to do what we could to keep her at home as long as possible, cause that’s what she wanted. She was adamant she wouldn’t go to a skilled nursing facility. Darren and Dana took great care of Mom; they got her up every morning, even if she wasn’t ready and she would bury herself deeper in the blankets. Sometimes all they got was a smile and she’d stick her tongue out. They took her lunch and dinner every evening and tucked her in at night. Sometimes they had to wait until her Hallmark movie was over at 11, but she did it her way. She had a sweet tooth, loved ice cream, chocolate and anything sweet. She fought until she couldn’t

Carol loved with her whole heart, remember:

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, A heart that forgives the worst, A mind that forgets the bad and a soul that never loses faith in God, cause that’s my Momma.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Fair Haven Children’s Home, 3132 N Fairhaven Loop, Strafford Missouri 65757.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., on Saturday, December 30, 2023, in Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 1:00-2:00 p.m., in the funeral home. Interment will take place following the funeral services, in Allee Memorial Gardens.

Arrangements are under the direction of Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Camdenton, Missouri.