Dolores Ann Harper of Plano, Texas passed away November 29, 2019 at the age of 87. She was born on September 30, 1932 to Anthony Gremminger and Victoria (Weinzapfel) Gremminger in El Reno, Oklahoma. The family relocated to Muenster TX where Dolores was raised a Roman Catholic in a tight knit German family community.
Upon graduating from high school, she went to school, worked and lived at St. Anne’s home for single women. An Altar attendant caught her eye in the fall, and she married Robert (Bobby) Howell on June 26, 1954. The couple was the first couple to marry in the new Sanctuary at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Muenster and settled in Ft Worth to begin their family. Three daughters were born from this union.
Dolores earned an associate degree in accounting from Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and worked as a tax advisor for the Internal Revenue Service and seasonally for H&R Block. She also worked in the Judge Advocate General’s office for the United States Army.
Growing up, Dolores was especially close to her first cousin, Gretchen Rasch. The two spent summers together, inseparable as friends, participated in each other’s weddings and when they married, the two couples forged a close and supportive friendship.
Dolores married Bob and Gretchen married Ken and the couples raised children, spent family vacations together and enjoyed a life-long friendship. Dolores was widowed in 1981 and Ken in 1997. After a 40-year friendship, and shared faith, it seemed a natural fit to blend 2 families that were already close. Dolores married Kenneth B. Harper on March 7, 1998 in Oceanport, New Jersey.
Dolores loved butterflies, and enjoyed gardening, and sewing, and was an exceptional financial steward. She had an adventurous soul, was onery by nature and was a loyal friend. She was blessed to travel and live in various states and regions of the country before replanting herself in her beloved Texas where she lived the last 2 years of her life.
Dolores is survived by her husband, Kenneth Beldon Harper of Plano, Texas; daughters, Rebecca and husband, Dale Davis of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania; Stephanie and husband, Thomas Potter of Allen, Texas; and Jill and husband, David Jones of Frisco, Texas; Additionally, she is survived by sons, Scott Harper and wife, Claudia of Houston, Texas, Paul Harper and wife, Kris of Olive Branch, Mississippi, and daughter, Julie and husband, Giff Pace of Atlanta, Georgia; The family is blessed with 16 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and numerous other loving family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Anthony and Victoria Gremminger; first husband, Robert Howell; two sisters, Geneva Pagel and Marian Stebbins; grandson, Stephen Harper.
The family will receive visitors during a Remembrance gathering to be held Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013 Sunday 12/8/2019 from 6-8pm.
A memorial Rosary & Mass service will be held on Monday, December 9, 2019 at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, 1914 Ridgeview Drive, Allen, Texas 75013. The Rosary will begin at 10:00 a.m. followed by the Mass at 11:00 a.m. with a lunch reception to follow in the Church Community Hall.
Memoral contributions may be made to the Parkinsons Research Foundation in the name of Dolores Ann Harper.