Mary V Harper

Mary Viola (Kowalke) Harper, 101, died Monday, July 7, 2025 in Goodland, Kansas.

Mrs. Harper was born March 11,1924, to Rudolph William and Mary Willamina Charlotte (Hanson) Kowalke on the family farm in Logan County, Kansas. She spent her early childhood and teen years on the farm near Wallace. She attended school in the one room Gill School where she later taught for the first time. She graduated from Winona (Consolidated) school in 1943 then attended college at Ft. Hays State.

Mary was working as a clerk at the Goodland Hotel when she met Robert T. “Steve” Harper. They were married on September 14. 1946. The couple lived in Washington State from 1947 to 1949.

Mary learned to sew as a child using a darning needle. She learned to copy patterns from pictures without directions. She made her first suit the first year she was married. Having no pattern, she cut her own and said, “it turned out real good”. She made most of her clothes throughout her life and made dresses for her granddaughter using photos sent to her of dresses Virginia liked. In 2004 Mary gifted her with a “Sunbonnet Sue” quilt she had made using material from each of the dresses she had made. She also did embroidery and tatting and her Uncle Bill taught her how to crochet.

While in Washington Mary was employed as a seamstress. On April 13, 1949, a 6.7 - 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck her workplace. She watched a room full of large industrial sewing machines dance across the floor. It was a sight she never forgot and talked about often.

When they returned to Goodland Mary worked several jobs including teaching at Kanorado and as a secretary in the Goodland School District’s administrative office. She was the secretary at both Grant Elementary and West Elementary retiring in 1986. After her retirement she was the secretary for Emmanuel Lutheran Church for a time.

Mary was an avid gardener literally filling the atrium at West Elementary with plants of all kinds. Her vegetable garden kept the table and pantry full of fresh and canned goods. She made her own catsup and the best pickled beans ever. She was a very good and adventurous cook. She never met a recipe she didn’t tweak. Over the years she made the most delicious and beautiful angel food wedding cakes with lemon frosting for family and friends as well as confirmation, birthday and anniversary cakes.

She was a past president and lifetime member of the VFW Auxiliary. In addition, she served as the Americanism Chairman with the honor of presenting flags to many groups and individuals over the years.

Mary loved to travel, and in 2007 she went to Guam with son Roy and daughter-in-law Peggy to see her granddaughter, Virginia and her husband Adam. She was 83 years old at the time and decided to try the tourist attraction Seawalkers. She wore a diving bell helmet and walked on the floor of the Marine Protected Piti Bay feeding the fish and waving to Roy and Virginia who were scuba diving nearby.

Ten years later, at the age of 93, she traveled to Alaska again with Peggy and Roy. They drove the “haul road” to Deadhorse where she dipped her toes in the Arctic Ocean, it was July, and the ambient air temperature was 38*. On the way back to Anchorage she got to watch a herd of more than a thousand Caribou cross the road in front of her. Returning to Goodland she fulfilled a long-time dream of travelling the Alaska Highway, something she had wanted to do since hearing about its construction during World War II. Icing on the cake was the viewing of the total solar eclipse in Casper, Wyoming on the way home.

Mary is survived by her sons Roy (Peggy), Sheridan, Wyoming and Robert (Brenda) Broken Bow, Nebraska. Her grandchildren Mike Tait, Virginia Rector (Adam) and Zak Harper and 6 great-grandchildren in addition to more than 30 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Steve, her 3 brothers and 2 sisters, and close friends Don Zimbelman and Leonard Kashka.

Memorial contributions may be made out to the Emmanuel Lutheran Church or to Goodland Senior Center and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell Funeral Home, 211 N. Main Ave., Goodland, KS 67735.