Shirley Ann Harper

Shirley A. Harper, 80, of Massillon, passed away on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at Aultman Compassionate Care. The middle child of 3, Shirley was born on April 19, 1937 to the late Paul and Frances (Grosswiller) Harper. A life dedicated to education, Shirley received a BS in Education from Kent State University along with a Masters in Elementary Administration. She also completed her post graduate work at Ball State University, Akron University, KSU, and Ohio University. Shirley began her career at Franklin School in Massillon where she taught 4th, 5th and 6th grades for 11 years. She then worked as an Elementary Principal for Massillon City Schools for 21 years. Upon her retirement in 1989, Shirley worked as Director of the ABLE Program for 7 years. She was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church where she was a lector and distributor. She also served as Treasurer of Church Women United, as well as belonging to the Rosary Altar Society. Shirley was also very involved with Canton College Club Chatter which she participated in for 53 years. Her involvement in the club included being Parliamentarian, serving on the Board as Publicity Chairperson, Co-Editor of the newsletter Chatter for the past 10 years, and serving on the Auditing Committee. Shirley was also a member of the Massillon Women’s Club where she served as secretary for the Handwork Section, a volunteer for Affinity Medical Center for many years and she was currently the secretary for her condo association. In her spare time, Shirley participated in a book club and played in various card clubs with the condo women where she resided. She was an avid sports enthusiast and loved watching the Cleveland Indians, the Cavaliers, the Ohio State Buckeyes and was a lifelong fan of the Massillon Tigers. One of her many accomplishments in life was being 1 of 3 women to receive the Paul Harris Fellow Award for Rotary Club in Massillon. Shirley will always be remembered for her enthusiasm, her compassion and her dedicated work ethic and involvement with her community. She put her heart and soul in everything she did and she will be greatly missed by her family, students, friends and organizations. She is survived by her dear sister Pauline Campbell; sister-in-law Kathy Harper; nieces and nephews Kirk (Christina) Harper, Shelly Harper, Dana (Brian) Garrett, Tim (Brittany) Harper and Doug Campbell; great nieces and nephews Graeham, Markus, Brandon, Everett, Elleson, T.J. and Addie; Special friend, Lisa Jarvis. Shirley treated and loved each one of her nieces and nephews as her own children, and saw her great nieces and nephews as her grandchildren as well. In addition to her parents, Shirley was preceded in death by her younger brother Jim Harper and brother-in-law Soupie Campbell. The family will receive friends on Monday, November 13, 2017 from 5-7 p.m. at the Paquelet Funeral Home in Massillon. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church at 10:30 a.m. with Fr. Gretchko officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Massillon Women’s Club, 210 4th St NE, Massillon, OH 44646 OR to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 206 Cherry Rd NE, Massillon, OH 44646.