David Harper

David Michael Harper, a longtime employee of Jacobs Engineering, died at home Monday evening, Oct. 11, 2010, after a brief illness. He was a native North Carolina, born in Graham, N.C., on Dec. 12, 1951. Mike grew up in Burlington, N.C., and was a 1970 graduate of Walter Williams High School. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Judy Fuller Harper and two daughters, Anne Michelle Wunstel and her husband, Chris, and Sarah Elizabeth Harper, all of Baton Rouge. He also had a grandson, Schuyler Nathaniel Schultz. Also survived by a sister, Aleta Harper Stearns, and two nieces, Kym S. Kampen and Lisa S. Mickens, all residing in the Washington, D.C., area. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, Ruble H. Harper and Ella Toomey Harper, who were formerly residents of Burlington. Mike was a 1973 graduate of the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill and a loyal Tar Heel fan, especially during basketball season. He was also a musician, songwriter, expert fisherman and a natural born comic. He will be sorely missed by his family, a great multitude of friends and his coworkers, especially those who were mentored by him. Along with the lives and accomplishments of his daughters, Anne and Beth, he considered the results of his mentoring to be his most enduring legacy. Mike chose to be cremated. A memorial service will be held at a place and time to be announced. He will spend the first part of eternity, in accordance with his expressed desire, on the hearth of the mountain retirement home that he had recently completed in Burnsville, N.C., and had briefly enjoyed sharing with his family and closest friends.