Stephenson Tales |
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The Final CurtainIt is hard to believe, but my parents, Jim Bob Stephenson and Lucy Chase Stephenson, have both
cast off this mortal coil. My father actually sent me Mom's obituary shortly after she died in March
2011 and suggested it might make a logical addition to the site. I kept it to load, but had trouble making
myself do it. Then two years and one week after Mom died, Dad died in March 2013. Suddenly I had two
obituaries to put on the site. My siblings and Dad and I wrote Mom's obituary, Dad wrote his own before he
died, but he did send it to all of us for our review and feedback. Losing my parents was hard. And
I simply couldn't bring myself to put their final, recap stories on this site that housed so much
of their life and laughter. Then this summer, 2015, Harper House had to be demolished. My younger sister
Toni inherited the house, and she and her husband Gary had hoped to restore it. But the deeper they
got into the problems and things that needed to be completely redone, the more they realized it could
not be salvaged. So the hard decision was made to take it down. And in its place they would raise
Harper House, Version 2. It will sit on the same footprint as the original; it will have the same
white and green color scheme outside; it will have the amazing view of the lake out front; but there
will be improvements - full height ceilings in the upstairs, a real bathroom upstairs, real closets in
the bedrooms (what a concept!!), and the plumbing, electric, and construction will all be up to
current construction codes. My eldest sister Lucky was the only one of the six of who could be there
when the home of our childhood summers came down. She took several videos to share with the rest of us.
And we wanted to share them with all of you who may have known our family, visited Harper House,
loved our parents, or just want to see the astonishing skill of the excavator driver.
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