John Harry Hemperly

He was born June 19,1916 in Three Forks,Montana,the son and only child of John Thomas and Susan Hemperly. His father was a flour milling engineer who in 1921 took his family to Tientsin,China, where he supervised construction and later operation of five large American-Chinese flour mills for a period of seven years.

Harry attained his early schooling in China up to the age of 12 and made several trips to China during this period. His teenage years were spent in Lewiston,Idaho,where he graduated in 1934 from the Lewiston Sr.High. In 1939

he graduated from the University of Idaho with a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering and later with a Master's degree.

He was a registered professional engineer in Oregon and Washington and during WWII served as a Marine electrical engineer at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton,Wa.

His major working years was with DOE as a project management engineer until his retirement in 1972.

Harry first came to the Tri-Cities in 1947 and started work with General Electric later transferring to AEC (DOE).

Harry is survived by his wife Bernice (Bee) Hemperly of Richland,Wa.,her two sons Randy Dunning,Mike and Sherry Dunning; his sons and their families Steve and Nancy Hemperly of Port Angeles, Wa., Scott and Bernie Hemperly of Idaho Falls, Id.; Rick and Judy Hemperly of Idaho Falls, Id.; and Nathan and Marilyn Hemperly of Pocatello, Id.