Thomas Kenneth Harper

Beloved husband and father, Thomas Harper, age 81, passed on September 4th, 2024. Tom is preceded in death by his mother, Ruth Hutton, father, Roy Waylon Harper, stepfather Elmer Hutton, wife Sharilyn Harper, brother Roy Harper, brother Eugene Harper, sister Gloria Lopez and nephew Dennis Harper. He is survived by his son, Kris Harper of Banning, daughters, Kelly Sanchez of Cherry Valley and Krystal Chamberlin of Beaumont, his grandchildren, Nick, Tyler, Jessica, Delaney, Darian, Ryan and many nieces and nephews.

Tom was born in Craig, Colorado on May 20,1943. He lived in Colorado until he joined the Army in 1960. He met the love of his life, Sharilyn, on Christmas Eve in 1962 and they married in 1964. They had 3 children together and were married almost 58 years when Sharilyn passed in 2022. During their marriage they lived in Twentynine Palms and the for the last 55 years in Banning California.

Tom worked for the City of Banning for 32 years as the Fleet Maintenance Supervisor. When his children were young Tom was very involved with their sports and coached soccer, baseball and softball. He continued being involved in his grandchildren’s sports, attending events and cheering them on. Tom had a great passion for the racing industry, from drag cars to funny cars and being involved in building them. Many people over the years would ask for his advice when fixing, building and or maintaining a race car. He was especially proud of working with his son and grandson on a junior dragster.

Tom has left a lasting impression on a vast amount of people over the years and those people will always have a special place in their hearts for him. He was a true representative of our Army and military forces and always showed his love for his country.