Patricia "Patty" K. Harper

Patricia Kathleen Harper had a vibrant mind and spirit until the end but she was ready to meet her Heavenly Father, and at age 99, with family at her side in her home in San Antonio, she did so.

Born in De Pere, Wisconsin in 1924, the 2nd oldest of 5 siblings, Patty lived her early life in the Chicago area where she married Johnny Harper in 1946 and had her first three children before moving to Abilene, Texas, having four more children there. She moved to a retirement community near Fredericksburg in 2004 and lived there until 2009 when she moved to San Antonio. She is survived by her children Brian Harper, Pamela Conaway, David Harper, Deborah Shipwash, and Christopher Harper, plus grandchildren Kristen (Conaway) Arnold, David Conaway, Melaina (Shipwash) Bjorklund, and Brittany Shipwash.  Also eight great-grandchildren, Jack, Finn, and Caroline Arnold, Will and Graham Conaway, Landon and Olivia Bjorklund, and Jax Shipwash. She was preceded in death by children Paula and Jay Harper, husbands Johnny Harper, Randall Bridges, and Jack Wood, parents Arthur and Laura Reiland, and siblings Marilyn Merle, and Jack, Bob, and Paul Reiland.

Her first husband, Johnny Harper, died in 1980. She married Randall Bridges in 1990 and was very happy until he died in 1995. She bought a small vacation house near Fredericksburg, naming it Serendipity, and moved there permanently in 2004. Jack Wood became smitten with her and they married in 2005, but he unfortunately passed away less than a year later. She then moved to San Antonio in 2009 to be closer to medical facilities and her son Jay, who had come to visit her weekly at Serendipity until his health deteriorated.

Patty Harper became a professional dancer at the age of thirteen. She received the greatest part of her training in Chicago, studying with top instructors in the fields of tap, jazz, ballet, acrobatics, and character. Upon graduation from high school, Patty received a dance scholarship and attended the Barnum Fine Arts School of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. She later trained in the field of ballroom in the Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire techniques. Patty performed in theatres, fairs, hotel performances, and clubs throughout the United States and Canada.

Patty had retired from dancing to raise her family, but then opened her one-room dance studio in Abilene in 1965, next to a candy store in Burro Alley. She juggled raising seven children and becoming a successful teacher and business owner. Three daughters followed in her dancing and teaching footsteps. Her son Christopher danced professionally with the Louisville Ballet. After five years in her first studio, Patty expanded the studio to accommodate the growing enrollment. 

Patty Harper traveled across the United States to continue her training. She taught workshops for the National Association of Dance as well as Dance Masters Chapter 35, of which she was a charter member. Patty taught summer workshops for numerous Texas drill teams including the Cisco Wrangler Belles. She choreographed numerous routines for the Belles and accompanied them as they performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC in 1973, 1977 and again in 1981. She also choreographed the special routine they performed in the Bob Hope 4th of July Spectacular in 1975.

Locally, Patty choreographed several productions for Abilene Community Theatre. Her students performed in numerous festivals, nursing homes, theatre productions, and special activities. Her semi-professional group performed in several clubs in Abilene. She also had a semi-professional twirling company, The WesTwirl Winds, who performed at fairs and parades across the Big Country.

In 1980, due to the huge number of students, Patty moved the dance studio to its present location on North 1st Street in Abilene. In 1985, Patty was asked to teach the worldwide entertainment troupe UP WITH PEOPLE.

Patty Harper retired in 1988 and sold the studio to her very first student, Mary Milstead. Mary, who was like another daughter to Patty, chose to keep the name Patty Harper Dance Studio. Patty attended performances of the current studio as she was able. Her legacy continues through the generations of dancers who enrich their lives with the art of dance through the studio.

Patty’s first love was dance, but she very much enjoyed antiquing, thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales. She knew a bargain when she saw it. She loved making crafts, especially shabby-chic and country-themed items. She sold her wares at a variety of craft mall booths, and enjoyed giving them to friends and family. Several gift boutique stores in the Hill Country sold them as well. She continued making her faux pastries and other items almost until she passed away. Her family was very important to Patty. She always put them first, and would do without so they could have more. This continued to the end.

From Mary’s Patty Harper Dance Studio Facebook page:

Some of you may have been lucky enough to have met Ms. Patty throughout the years, maybe at recitals or shows, or perhaps you were a student of hers yourself. For those who never got the pleasure, know that she was wonderful. She was bold and unique, creative and graceful. She wore many hats throughout her beautiful life and wore them fabulously, of course. She was a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister, a teacher, a Mimi, an entrepreneur, an artist, and a friend to so many. She was a blessing to a small town hungry for a touch of culture only a bubbly and brave character like hers could deliver. She tapped and twirled her way through every room with charm and elegance, and she loved with intention and tenderness throughout her incredible life.

Everything we are able to do is because of this wonderful lady, Ms. Patty Harper. She laid the framework for this amazing and loving community we have, this family, this space that so many generations have called home. She is a part of every brick and floorboard, every music note and every joyful moment that happens in this haven she created for us. We are so blessed to have the chance to be part of the legacy she left for us, at the studio and beyond.

Ms. Patty loved all of you, “loved you more than bacon,” and she will be so, so missed. We should all so be grateful to have been touched by this beautiful and remarkable human’s light. We march forward as she would have, on the eight count, with courage and kindness, grace and love.

A service will be held at 1pm on December 2 at Puente & Sons Funeral Chapel on Judson Road in San Antonio.

Remembrance Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@davidsotherstuff/videos