Mary Lou Harper
December 3, 1937 ~ May 10, 2020
Mary Lou Harper, a lifelong resident of the Columbus area, passed away peacefully on May 10, 2020 at Keepsake Village. She was 82.
The daughter of Lisle and Helen Kinsey, she was born in Waymansville, Indiana, Columbus High School in 1956. Mary Lou started working at Cummins Engine Company immediately after graduation and had a 40 year career with the company, working primarily in Accounts Payable. It was at Cummins that she met Charles Harper, whom she was married to from 1975 until he passed away in 2018.
Mary Lou enjoyed baking and frequently shared her treats with fellow employees at Cummins and friends and family who came to visit her. She had a passion for Christmas ornaments and always had some on display. She loved dogs, and her sheepdog Cedric was an important part of her life for many years.
She was preceded in death by her parents and an older brother Lyle Kinsey, Jr. She is survived by a niece Jackie Kinsey Nelson and a nephew Derek Kinsey. Due to the pandemic, burial will be private, and a memorial service to celebrate Mary Lou’s life will be planned later.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Love Chapel.
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My wife and I lived next to Mary Lou and Chuck on Woodcrest Ct during the late 1980s. They were very nice neighbors. We had five children born during those years. Mary Lou would gift babies first Christmas Hallmark ornaments to each one. These ornaments are still treasured by the “children” now in their thirties … I am sure they will be passed down to future generations in our family.
Rick and Paula Gustafson
I am the son of Charles Harper and lived with her family, Mary Lou went out of her way to make me feel welcome with many gestures of kindness. She was a fantastic cook I never left a visit to them with an empty stomach. Her love for my dad was obvious and made him a happy man for many decades. The timing of her death was about the same time I had 5 day stay in the local hospital ICU with my own health challenge. I am very sorry to have missed the funerals for both my dad and Mary Lou with my health challenges. I hope they are forever together and at peace.I can still picture them and hear their voices, I miss them very much.