Otto Harp
Otto Harp
Otto Harp, 95, died on Feb. 3, 2023, at Progress West Hospital, O’Fallon, Mo., with family by his side.
H e was born on Aug. 4, 1927, in Yardell, Ark., the son of Ira Harp and Bertie (Hill) Harp.
He moved to Scott City in 1941, working as a farm hand and other miscellaneous jobs.
Otto served in the U.S. Army from November 1945 to February 1947, serving as a Tec 5 heavy truck driver with the 3rd Engineer Combat Battalion at Kokura, Japan, in the post-war clean-up effort.
Otto met the love of his life, Emogene L. Wood, while she was waitressing at the Airliner Restaurant in Scott City. They got married on June 8, 1952, at the First Christian Church, Scott City, two weeks after Emogene graduated from Scott Community High School.
While living in Scott City, Otto was active in the First Christian Church and 4-H.
Otto drove a truck for Shallow Water Refining Company and in the 1960s began farming in Wichita County on the weekends. In 1971, Otto and Emogene built a home in Wichita County and they started farming full-time.
After moving to the farm, the family attended Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church which was the church Emogene had grown up attending. Otto and Emogene won many agricultural awards, including the Governor’s Award for the wheat sample that had the highest protein in the State of Kansas. This award was presented by then-Gov. John Carlin at the Kansas State Fair.
In 1980, the Kansas Bankers Association presented Otto and Emogene with a Soil Conservation Award.
In addition to farming, Otto served as a Wichita County commissioner, and was active in church, 4-H and the community. In the 1990s, Otto and Emogene began traveling in their RV, including a multi-month trip to Alaska one summer.
In 1998, they retired from farming and moved back to Scott City. Otto and Emogene started traveling more in their RV, spending winters in Fredericksburg, Tex., and summers in Salida, Colo., where they made many friends.
Emogene passed away on Nov. 28, 2015, and in October 2016, Otto moved to O’Fallon, Mo., to be closer to his daughter and family.
Otto is survived by two sons, Richard Harp and wife, Alicia, Garden City, and Devoe Harp and wife, Kim, Avinger, Tex.; one daughter, Denise Murphy and husband, Tim, St. Charles, Mo.; five grandsons, Ryan Harp and wife, Kimberly, Garden City, Russell Harp and wife, Sarah, Topeka, Reed Harp and wife, Rheagan, Manhattan, Cody Harp and wife, Keele, Zanesville, Ohio, Kolt Harp and fiancée, Marissa Thompson, Longview, Tex.; one granddaughter, Lauren Hill and husband, Cody, O’Fallon, Mo.; and six great-grandchildren.
Otto was preceded in death by his parents; their first born, Debra Lynn; a sister, Ora Wallis; and two brothers, Doy and Troy Harp.
The funeral service will be held at the First Christian Church, Scott City, on Sat., Feb. 18, 10:30 a.m., with Rev. Rodney Hopper presiding.
Visitation will be on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Price and Sons Funeral Home Chapel, Scott City, with family in attendance from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Interment will be in the Scott County Cemetery.
Lunch will be provided at the church following interment.
Memorials, in lieu of flowers, may be given to First Christian Church, the American Red Cross or the American Burn Association in care of Price and Sons Funeral Homes, Scott City, Ks. 67871.
Otto was a lifetime blood donor. This was his way to repay for all the blood given to their daughter, Debbie, before she passed away at age six from injuries in a burn accident.