Willene O. Harper

Willene O. Harper age 81 of Batesville died Sunday, March 22, 2015 at a Batesville hospital. She was born February 27, 1934 at Batesville, Arkansas to Bly and Viola Lexion Osborne. She had been a social worker for NADC in Batesville and also a substitute teacher for the Batesville School District. She had been the President of the NAACP in Batesville and helped to establish the Martin Luther King Scholarship Program in Batesville. She worked with the Old Independence Regional Museum in Batesville providing information on Independence County Black History. She was a member of the Bethel AME Church in Batesville. She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Manuel Osborne and Bly Osborne Jr.; four sisters, Jo Catherine Neely, Dorothy Davis, Annie Osborne and Lillie Mae Fleming and one grandson. Terenzo M. Harper. Survivors include her husband, William Otis Harper Sr. of the home; two sons, William Otis Harper Jr. and William Randolph Harper both of Batesville; two daughters, Teresa Willene Cook of Des Moines, Iowa and Luiza V. “Lucy” Harper of Farmerville, Louisiana; 11 grandsons;16 great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at the Bethel AME Church in Batesville with Rev. Byron Miller officiating. Burial will follow in the Oaklawn Cemetery located in Batesville with arrangements by Qualls Batesville Funeral Service of Batesville. Visitation will be Friday, March 27, 2015 from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Pallbearers will be William Dan E. Cook, Shawn A. Harper, Jermy B. Harper, Brian Earls, Tim Grant and Shawn D. Bunch.