Charles Harper ’52

Charlie came to us from Hotchkiss, majored in basic engineering, ate at Ivy, and joined the Student Christian Association. He roomed with Ab Rivers. He played football and rowed on the boat that won a gold at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.

Bearing his Navy commission, he served in the Arctic and the Mediterranean until 1954. Charlie worked for his father’s company, H.M. Harper Co., eventually serving as its president, until 1978. In 1981 he joined American Car and Foundry as CEO of its WKM division.

He enjoyed a wide range of sports with his wife, Patty, and their six children, and after retiring, he took on a number of volunteer responsibilities with several churches and other institutions.

Charlie died Dec. 14, 2016, leaving his second wife, Margaret, and his six children, Charles, Margaret, Greta, Alice, Serena, and Paisley. The class offers condolences to them all, with appreciation of Charlie’s service to our country.