Margaret Joan Harper

Margaret Joan Harper, teacher and school administrator, died Friday, July 12, 2019 at her home in Fairfield. She was 95. Margaret was born November 23, 1923 in Irvine, Alberta Canada to Russell and Alice Harper. Margaret and her parents moved to Massachusetts when she was eight. She graduated from Bellingham High School in 1941. She graduated from Framingham State College with a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics in 1945. She received an MA from Fairfield University in 1977. Upon graduation with her bachelor's degree she taught Home Economics at the Girls Club in Waterbury, Connecticut. She moved to East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where she taught Food and Clothing to middle and high school students. In 1953, Margaret moved to Fairfield, Connecticut, to work with the Fairfield Public Schools. In 1957, she assumed responsibility for feeding Fairfield's public school students with funds provided by the federal government. Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 (48%) of Fairfield's students aged Kindergarten through 12th grade participated in the city's hot lunch program each year. She retired in 1987, after 30 years, to take care of her elderly mother. She was an organizer of Fairfield's Food Pantry where she worked as a volunteer for eight years. She also served as head of the Altar Guild at St. Timothy's Church where she was a parishioner. She is survived by her cousins Jean Culbertson Young (Louisville, Kentucky) and Joan Culbertson Scott (Ft Lauderdale, Florida) and their children: Rebecca Young (Cecil O'Neal) of La Chapelle Gonaguet, France; Deborah Young and her daughter, Katherine Xuelan Young (Birmingham, Alabama); and Douglas Scott (Ft Lauderdale). In addition, she is survived by cousins Brenda Bolton (Peter Wells) of Toronto, Canada, and Barbara Bolton (Richard Smythe) of Sidney, British Columbia. Margaret will be missed by her companion, Ginny Worcester, who took care of her in her final years on earth. The funeral service will take place on Wednesday, August 28th at 11 a.m. at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church (4670 Congress Street, Fairfield, CT 06824) In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to St. Timothy's Episcopal Church.