Wayne L. Harper

Wayne Leroy Harper 83, Frankfort, died July 29, 2020 at Topeka. A graveside service for Wayne and Bonnie will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the Vermillion Cemetery in Vermillion, Kansas. Wayne was born January 31, 1937 on a farm along Highway 9, West of Vermillion, to Donald J. and Edythe M. Harper. He attended Elm Creek Elementary School, southeast of Marysville before moving with his family to a farm south of Vermillion in 1948. On June 7, 1954, after completing his junior year of Vermillion High School, he suffered a tragic farm accident which cost him his right arm and nearly his life. During his senior year at VHS, he joined the track team, specializing in the one mile run. At the Marshall County Track and Field meet in Marysville, in May 1955, he set a new record in that event. Later, in state-wide competition at the KU Relays in Lawrence, he did not win, but the following day the local newspaper article headlined, “One Arm Vermillion Boy Spices Relays". After graduating from VHS in 1955, he pursued a degree in electrical engineering at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, AR, graduating in 1959. He married Bonnie May Carson on August 3, 1958. His career path led him to Collins Radio and Texas Instruments Corporation in Dallas, TX. From there he went to Goodyear Aerospace and Loreal Aerospace Corporation in Phoenix, AZ, retiring in 1992. Survivors include his wife, Bonnie; sons, Keven (Linda) Harper, Timon (Cory) Harper; granddaughter, Courtney; brothers, James, William, Timothy and John; and sister, Karen. Preceding him in death were his parents; and daughter, Colleen. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Wayne L. Harper, please visit our flower store.