Howard David Harper
Bossier City, LA – Howard David Harper was born on December 30, 1929 in Detroit Michigan. The family moved to a 40 acre farm near Fenton, Michigan to better survive the Great Depression and stock market crash of November, 1929. Howard attended an eight-grade one room country school. He graduated from Fenton High School on 18 June, 1947. That fall, he attended Michigan State College (now University) for 2 years. He quit college to enter a Tool and Die Machinist apprenticeship with General Motors, Fisher Body Division which included night school at the General Motors Institute of Technology.
In January 1951, he enlisted in the United States Air Force for four years intending to resume his apprenticeship. He was selected to enter the Aviation Cadet program where he learned to fly and won his wings and became a commissioned officer. After 22 ½ years of service, he retired from the Air Force on July 31, 1973, in the rank of LTCOL, a Command Pilot with about 6,500 accident free flying hours. Over 5,000 hours of that time were flown in the B-52. He served as Chief of the 7th AF Briefing Division while in Saigon, Vietnam for one year. His final duty was Squadron Commander of the 716th Bomb Squadron.
While in the service he attended night school and earned a BA in History from Chapman College on August 22, 1969. Subsequently, he began a Master’s Degree in General Counseling. After his retirement from the USAF, he completed the Master’s degree in General Counseling on August 24, 1978 from Louisiana Tech University. He earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from East Texas State University Commerce, Texas (now Texas A and M) on Dec 16, 1983. The title of his Doctoral Dissertation was: “Levels of Cognitive Development and Locus of Control as Predictors of Academic Achievement for College Students”. He had a private practice in Denton Texas where he served veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was licensed to practice Psychology by the state of Texas on 15 March 1985. In August, 1987, the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology certified him as a Health Service Provider in Psychology. His diagnoses and reports submitted to the VA contributed to the award of millions of dollars in benefits to hundreds of veterans. He also saw private patients for Adult Development issues. In 1990, he contracted to become a medical expert for the Social Security Administration.
In this capacity, the Administrative Law Judges would hold hearings wherein they would hear testimony from a claimant, and take testimony from the medical experts regarding the claimant’s case. In the year 2000, he closed his Denton practice and moved to Bossier City, LA. He continued the testimony as a Medical Expert for the Social Security Administration until he retired his license in 2001.
Howard published a book in June, 2008 about his father, who served in the army during WWI. The title of the book is: “Corporal Thomas Harper”, and can be found on Amazon and Infinity Publishing Company. While in the service and stationed in Moses Lake, Washington, in the 1960’s, he converted a former barber shop into a Christian Science reading room. He also served the church there for a term as second Reader. After retirement from the USAF, Howard joined the First Methodist Church at the head of Texas St, in Shreveport, LA. He was active in Sunday school, both teaching and attendance and did evangelical work on occasion.
Three days after he was awarded his wings on April 1, he married Jill Deane Ingles on April 4, 1953 in Holly, Michigan. Jill died on July 8 1964 of Lupus Erythematosus. She suffered a lot of pain, was in intensive care for 6 months during which time she was administered over 500 injections of morphine. They were married 11 years. Howard’s second marriage ended in divorce after about 11 years. Howard married Carolyn Jean Barrows Camp on 7-7-77 at 7:07 PM. This marriage lasted for 40 years until “death us do part”. Howard passed away early Sunday morning, January 14, 2018 He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas Harper; mother, Ione Meath Roberts Harper; brother, Frederick Thomas Harper; first wife, Jill Deane Ingles Harper and still born female infant, Baby Harper.
