Don Harp

Dr. Don Stanley Harp, age 87, died March 28th, 2010 at his > home in Oklahoma City. He was born July 28, 1922 on a farm > northwest of Vinita, OK, near Estella, to Thomas B. and > Katie Ruth Sensenbaugh Harp. He was the youngest boy of 15 > children - seven boys and eight girls. He graduated from > White Oak High School in 1941. During WWII, he joined the > Army Air Force and ultimately was stationed at Rackheath, > near Norwich, England, with the 8th Air Force. His crew > flew bombing missions over France, Germany and Austria in a > B-24 Liberator aircraft. Among his combat decorations were > the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster, European Service Medal, > American Theater Service Medal and WWII Victory Medal. His > 467th Bomb Group also received two combat leadership and > bombing accuracy awards. He is a charter member of the > WWII Memorial in Washington, DC. After his discharge in > Nov. 1945, he attended Northeastern State University in > Tahlequah as a pre-dental > student. He was accepted to Washington University School > of Dentistry, St. Louis, MO, in 1947. On Oct. 22, 1948, he > married Lila Jo O'Neal a student nurse at Washington > University School of Nursing. After graduation from dental > school in 1951 he served two years in the Korean War at Ft. > Benning, GA. Lila Jo (affectionately known as Peggy) and > Don both worked at the base hospital outpatient clinics. > He and Peggy moved to Oklahoma City in 1953 where he > practiced dentistry for 41 years, retiring in 1995. He was > a lifetime member of the American Dental Association and the > Oklahoma Dental Association. He was a member of the United > Methodist Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City. He had a > special love of gardening, planting many fruit and shade > trees on the acreage where he and Peggy raised their > children, and where they lived since 1968. A trip back to > the country roads of his childhood to fish on nearby farm > ponds was an annual joy. He > was preceded in death by his parents, infant brother > William Harp, and infant son Thomas Joseph Harp. Also > preceding him in death were four other brothers; Kenneth, > Calvin, Milford and Earl. Also preceding him in death were > five sisters; Rhoda Belle Shanahan, Naomi Foster, Mary K. > Gannaway, Miriam Spence, and Leah Beatrice Lochrie. He is > survived by his wife of 61 years, Peggy; daughters Allyson > Meacham and Lisa Austerman; son Dr. Mark Harp, and three > granddaughters, Phoebe, June and Violet Austerman. Sons in > law are Richard C. Meacham and Dr. David B. Austerman. He > is also survived by one brother, Thomas (Buddie) of Sandy, > UT; three sisters, Dorothy Hough of Vinita, OK; Betty Haynes > of St. Louis, MO, and Amy Delaney of Tulsa, OK. Also > surviving are many very special nephews and nieces. > > In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the National > WWII Memorial, Washington, DC. > > Services will be 1 p.m. Friday, April 2, 2010, at Luginbuel > Funeral Home Chapel, 332 North Scraper Street, Vinita, OK. > Internment to follow at Fairview Cemetery. > >

Service Details

Friday, April 2nd, 2010 1:00pm, Luginbuel Funeral Home

Interment Details

Fairview Cemetery - Vinita