J.D. HARPER, 77, a retired pharmacy owner of Austin,
was surrounded by family when he peacefully passed
away May 11, 2012, with interment in Austin Memorial
Park at Austin, TX.
J.D. was born in Pampa, TX on Jan. 11, 1935 to
Charles Ernest Harper, Sr. (RHS-1929) and Pauline
(Blankenship) Harper (RHS-1928). They moved through-
out West Texas before settling in Ranger, TX when
J.D. was a young boy. He attended Ranger High School
in the Class of 1953. That's where he met and
married his high school sweetheart Imogene Loper
(RHS-1954) in September of 1955. He served in the
U.S. Army from 1954-1956, stationed in Anniston,
AL. He was a member of Hill City Masonic Lodge
and was in the Ben Hur Shrine.
He graduated from the UT College of Pharmacy in
January 1960. Four years later, he bought Crestview
Pharmacy in North Central Austin. The pharmacy was
his passion. He eagerly cared for every customer as
if they were his own family. Each Saturday morning
in the back of the pharmacy, a dozen longtime local
Austinites would gather to tell tall tales and ponder
world problems over coffee. The pharmacy continues
to be a mainstay of the Crestview neighborhood. J.D.'s
two sons now run the store.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Joy Harper
Gilbert (RHS-1949), and brother, Charles E. Harper,
Jr. (RHS-1960).
He is survived by his wife and best friend of 56 years,
Imogene; sons, Jerry and his wife, Leslie, David and
his wife, Amy; and grandchildren, Jay, Heather, Jacob,
Duke and Dane, all of Austin.
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