TENANTS HARBOR — Gary Lewis Harper, 82, died peacefully Sunday, March 2, 2025 at Maine Medical Center in Portland after a long period of ill health. He will be remembered for his kindness, loyalty, and giving heart.

He was born in Rockland, October 1, 1942, son of Raymond Oscar Harper and Josephine B. (Thompson) Harper. He grew up on his parents’ River View Farm, originally an egg producing farm which transitioned into raising broilers in the 1950’s. After living and working for many years in the Boston area, Gary and his wife, Katharine, retired and returned home to live in the house where he grew up. His happiest days were riding on his lawnmower and tending to his garden.

Gary graduated from St. George High School in 1960, attended the University of Maine, and received his Associates Degree in Nuclear Engineering from Wentworth Institute in 1963. He was a Licensed Professional Engineer for both the states of Massachusetts and Georgia. He worked most of his professional life for Stone and Webster Engineering Company, through many transitions and acquisitions, retiring in 2016 from the same company currently known as WECTEC LLC, a subsidiary of Westinghouse. His last assignment, working together with his wife, was at the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plants in Waynesboro, Georgia.

Remembered by his friends as a lover of sports, he played baseball for the St. George Babe Ruth team, hitting a home run in the state tournament on the old Colby College field vs Waterville. He played baseball in high school as well as for the town team, The Torpedoes. When playing basketball, he was a very good shooter and rebounder. He spent a lot of time playing at the Rockland Community Building as well as at home, in his barn shooting hoops with his many friends. Participation in sports continued as he grew older, playing in the Stone and Webster softball and golf leagues. He and his wife became members of the Rockland Golf Club together upon returning to Maine for their retirement years.

His avocation was cooking, which began as a hobby starting in his mother’s kitchen. In the 1980s he became an Owner, partnering with Ed Black in the original Black Harpoon, a seasonal Restaurant in Port Clyde. His engineering profession took a hiatus in the 1990s when he became an Owner/Partner in a Boston Market Franchise until it closed in the year 2000. Returning full time to Engineering, his passion for cooking remained. During retirement, he took great pleasure in assembling all his favorite cooking recipes into a cookbook, representing 60 plus years of research and several different areas of the United States, from Port Clyde, Maine to Louisiana. He was continuously adding to this collection.

Predeceased by his parents, a younger brother, Raymond Austin Harper, and his uncle who was like an older brother, Robert Thompson; Gary is survived by his wife of 40 years, Katharine (Stumpf) Harper; his daughters Kristen Elizabeth Harper of Bedford, Massachusetts, Meghann Moriarty Jacobs and her husband Matthew of Tenants Harbor; his grandchildren, Erin and Thomas Jacobs.

He also leaves his brother’s family, Susan Meyer and her husband Paul of South Thomaston; a niece, Wendy Harper and her husband Patrick Cunningham of Hallowell, Maine; a nephew, Christopher Harper and his wife Jennifer of Wilmington, Massachusetts; and his great-nieces and nephews, Charlotte and Josephine Harper-Cunningham, and Austin and Suki Harper.

He had many cousins and will be greatly missed, especially by Rosemary Jones who was the sister he never had, as well as Brad Saunders, Donna Smith, and their extended families.

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 11 a.m., at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland. It will be a time to celebrate how he touched our lives with his humor, quick dry wit, his soft heart, and all the times he had your back.

In lieu of Flowers, donations may be made in his name to the St. George Firefighters and Ambulance Association, The Jackson Memorial Library, or the Marshall Point Light House Museum.

At every opportunity he could find, Gary inspired people to be their best, seeing their goodness and strengths. If you fell short, he was there to gently remind you to do better. Somewhere, fireworks are lighting up the sky.

To share a memory or condolence with the Harper family, please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.