Rosa Lee Harker passed away on November 25, 2018 at the age of 95. She was born in Victoria on June 25, 1923, to the late Raymond and Annie Mantz Tucker. A life-long resident of Victoria, Mrs. Harker was a descendent of one of the City’s founding families. Her great-grandfather, John George Mantz, arrived here through Indianola from Germany on the Sailship Everhardt in 1846; her grandfather, Dilleman Mantz, married Rosa Ernst, whose family from Alsace were also early Victoria settlers.
Mrs. Harker attended Nazareth Academy and later graduated from what was Patti Welder High School. She converted to Catholicism at the age of 12, and remained a member of St. Mary’s Church her whole life. During World War II, she met, and later married, Ralph Kennedy Harker, an Army Air Corps pilot from Trenton, New Jersey, then stationed at Foster Field in Victoria. She became a young widow when he was killed in a car accident in 1954.
A short time later, she entered the management training program at J.C. Penney Co., where she rose to the position of Personnel Manager, thus becoming a pioneer for women in management for that company in South Texas. Mrs. Harker retired from Penney’s in 1983. Besides the many professional honors and rewards she received during her career, she was also recognized for community service. From 1974-77 she was a member of the General Advisory Committee for Vocational Education for the Victoria Independent School District, and in 1977, she was named an Outstanding Ambassador by the Victoria Chamber of Commerce. Her community involvement continued even into retirement.
Mrs. Harker is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie Harker and Clifford Dahl, and her grandson, Aaron Harker Dahl, all of San Antonio, and her nephew and his wife, Jim and Judy Tucker of Ingleside. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Harker, her brother, James H. Tucker, and her parents.
A funeral service will be held Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 11:00 am at Rosewood Funeral Chapels with Rev. Dominic Antwi-Boasiako officiating. Private burial will follow.
Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis or to Nazareth Academy in Victoria.
Share condolences at www.rosewoodfuneralchapel.com.
