We know Ken would get back to us if he could. He was our dad, our Papa, our brother, our friend, and Ingrid’s beloved husband for 43 years.
After a fierce battle with cancer Ken died peacefully at home on October 5, 2018. Ken was born in Chicago on April 4, 1948, the oldest son of Roger K. Harper and Helen O. Harper. Ken’s younger brother, John Harper, lives in Tucson, Arizona and his younger sister, Ann Connor, lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ken graduated from Elmhurst High School in 1966. He joined the army in 1968 after a year at Ribbon College. Ken was sent to Da Nang in Vietnam in 1969.
After returning from Vietnam Ken received a BA from the University of Illinois in Urbana, where he met and married Ingrid Gjerlev. He received an MA from the University of New Hampshire and was in the Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa. In Atlanta Ken worked for Bosell Marketing. In 1988 Ken, Ingrid, and 1-year-old daughter Sarah moved from Atlanta to Oak Hills in Beaverton, Oregon. Kevin, born in 1990, completed the little family. Ken worked in marketing at Intel for 10 years and later for DAT. He retired from DAT in April 2018.
Ken‘s eloquence, good heart, and love of story-telling gathered new and old friends and his adoring family, including granddaughters Jordan, Samantha and Mia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Outside In or Vietnam Veterans of America.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.skylinememorialgardens.com for the Harper family.
