Obituary of Winifred Bernadine Harper

Winifred Bernadine Pehling Harper died peacefully on August 20, 2020, with her loving family around her. Born on July 8, 1925, Dolly grew up with her twin brother Wilfred and five other siblings in Echo, Minnesota. She graduated from Echo High School in 1943 and then moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, where she helped with the war effort at Carter Carburetor. There she met Elbert Harper, whom she married in 1945. They had two children, Patricia and John. Later in life, Dolly married Harry Harper of Decatur, Illinois, with whom she lived happily until his death in 1983. When she retired in 1989 from her career as import/export clerk for Mueller Castings, Dolly moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, to be near her brother George and his family. The Havasu years provided many happy memories of family gatherings when the Minnesota folks came in the winter and year-round fellowship with members of Mount Olive Lutheran Church. For 25 years Dolly was a dedicated volunteer at the Inter-Agency Food Bank. An avid card player, Dolly greatly enjoyed her 500 and canasta groups. Dolly is preceded in death by her parents, siblings, husbands, and son John. She is survived by her daughter Patricia Byers (David); five grandchildren, including Sarah Byers of Newton, Massachusetts, Emily Byers (Nathaniel Koch) of Washington, D.C., David Byers of Lugano, Switzerland, Megan Neville (Lance) of Shawnee, Kansas, and Stacie Harper Billard (Andrew) of Quincy, Massachusetts; three great-grandchildren, including Theodore Byers Koch and Evan and Lydia Neville; nephew, Douglas Pehling (Rebecca) of Lake Havasu; and other nieces and nephews. Dolly will be greatly missed by long-time confidant Jerry Ash and her many other loving friends in Lake Havasu. Memorial gifts in Dolly’s memory will be welcome at Hospice of Havasu, Inter-Agency Food Bank, or Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Services were entrusted to the care of Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home. Thoughts and condolences can be sent to the family at www.lietz-frazefuneralhome.com.