William James Harp Jr.

William James Harp, Jr. was born on July 1, 1930, and died on April 8, 2021. Born in Abbeville, GA, he was graduated from the University of Georgia where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He met Barbara Harvell in Athens, GA, and they were married in 1957. He served in the Navy as well as the Marines as a Hospital Corpsman during the Korean Conflict. Upon his return, he worked as a Pharmacist at Pierce Prescription Shop at Hemming Plaza in Jacksonville, then finally closed his career at Winn Dixie Pharmacies. Fiercely dedicated to his church, he was a member of Avondale United Methodist Church for over 60 years. “Pap”, as he was so fondly known to so many, served as the Director of the Methodist Youth Fellowship for many years, leading them on Mission trips to the West Coast, The Appalachian Mountains, and even Hopetown, Bahamas. He was a role model to hundreds of children over the span of his long life. The Church Choir enjoyed his boisterous bass voice for 50 years. After his retirement from his career as a Pharmacist, he taught Pharmacy Math in the Nursing Program at FSCJ, then later shared his talents with younger students as a Substitute Teacher in the Duval and Clay County School system. He had a heart for animals, deeply loving his Siamese cat Reese, and his dogs Tallulah, Indie, and Esmarelda. He valued gentility, protocol, and generosity. He was a true southern gentleman.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Harvell Harp, his son William James Harp, III, his daughter Barbara Rebekah Harp, his son Mark Andrew Harp and his wife Lynn Pyontek Harp, and his grandsons Brian Harp and Brad Harp.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent in his honor to Avondale United Methodist Church, or to one of these animal rescue groups: Rescue Ranch of Rutledge, GA, Pug Rescue of Florida, Kamp Kritter, or Clay Humane.

A viewing will be held at 11:00 on Monday, April 19th at Hardage-Giddens Riverside Memorial Park and Funeral Home, followed by a small service for family and close friends at the Jacksonville National Cemetery. A grand musical celebration will be held soon to honor him and will be open to all who wish to attend.

Those are the facts, here are the emotions, as expressed by me, his daughter. No one is ever ready to lose a parent. I find it hard to believe that the world did not stop spinning on April 8th, and I am shocked that people are just going about their business each day while I am paralyzed by grief. I live closest to my parents and have spent the most time with them. Daddy and I hung out together a lot. We enjoyed pizza and beer, and on special occasions he loved a sip of Harvey’s Bristol Cream. We could sit in silence or chat away about nothing or everything. I would bring animals in the house and he would fall in love with them, then be crushed when they died. People loved Daddy – he had a quick wit, a raucous laugh, and was sharp even at 90. He valued manners and education and made sure we never had college debt. He loved the Georgia Bulldogs and Mark and I followed in his footsteps to attend college there. He loved that Mark and his son Brian joined Pi Kappa Phi as legacies, and that I was a Little Sister to the fraternity as well. Daddy loved to collect “treasures” such as crystal, and he and I spent hundreds of hours “thrifting” as he hunted for unique finds. For over 20 years, Daddy and I took a yearly road trip with a carload of dogs to Baltimore, eating egg biscuits and Cheetos with the crumbs devoured by pugs, and stopping halfway at South of the Border. These adventures are some of the best memories I think I may ever have. Just us on the open road, getting lost (“Just drive around until you see something familiar, I can’t understand the map.”) and laughing and listening to scary books on DVD. He was known as “The Praline King” because he was a master praline maker, even though he possessed no cooking skills at all.

Yet sometimes he frustrated me, like when he would call me at 6 AM to put ink in the printer so he could print an email joke. Yes, he had to have it done right then. Or more recently, when his stubborn nature, which I share, made him refuse to use a cane when he needed it. He spent a lot of time over the past decade in the hospital or nursing home, and although at the time I groused when the nurses would

call me in the night to say that he was “ornery” and I needed to come calm him down, I did it anyway, and I am so grateful that I had those opportunities to help him, as I have no regrets today.

Daddy was so proud of my brothers and me. Jimmy, “The Maestro”, about whom Daddy regaled stories of his intellect (“He can complete the New York Times Crossword puzzle in 15 minutes!) and musical genius to anyone who would listen. Daddy was proud of Mark for his professional successes, (“Mark is a computer wizard!”) and for his devotion to his wife and sons. Daddy was proud of me, too, not so much in the sense that he told me so, but in the way that he spoke about me to others. I am compassionate, radical, and quirky (“Did you mean to do that to your hair?!) and he thought that was kind of cool. He took care of Mama through good times and bad times, (“She can be ridiculous, but I love her so!”) and today I know her heart is broken from the silence in their house, waiting for him to put the covers on her at night. My brother Jimmy called Daddy a “Colossus” and that seems about right. He loved us and we loved him. He will live on in the hearts of those who knew him, and to me, will always just be Daddy.

Well done, good and faithful servant.