Rachel Swann Harper

AIKEN, SC - Rachel Arminda Swann Harper, 94, widow of Quentin R. Harper entered her eternal rest on December 28, 2020.  A daughter of the late Thomas E. and Ada Weston Swann, her growing up years were spent in Cool Spring, North Carolina.  She attended Mars Hill College and then worked in the business office at the college.  While there she met her future husband.  They were married in 1950, and after a few years in Texas, they moved to Aiken where he was employed by DuPont.

     Rachel soon began working in the Real Estate office of Rubye Ratchford and continued in real estate after purchasing the business in 1973, until her children “forced” her retirement at the age of 91.  She was twice named as Realtor of the Year and was also a former president of the Aiken Board of Realtors

     She was a long time member of First Baptist Church in Aiken, making that her church home all the years she lived in Aiken.  A member of the Truth Seekers Sunday School class, she served the church in many capacities through the years, especially in the nursery where she and Quentin rocked generations of babies.

     She was a long time member of the Suburban Garden Club which was organized in 1963, and she served multiple times as president and many years as treasurer.

     Rachel had a deep faith in God and loved her family.  She is remembered fondly for being gracious and kind; a woman of integrity, generous, hard-working, and possessing a keen mind.  Besides real estate she enjoyed gardening, working puzzles of all kinds and feeding her backyard birds.

     She is survived by her children:  Eric (Teresa) Harper, David (Karen) Harper, Lester (Marcie) Harper all of Aiken and Carolyn (Frank) Cothran of Mt. Pleasant, SC, as well as 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, sisters Ruth Askins and Sarah Catron of Winston Salem, NC, Dorothy Dill of Greenville, SC and Mildred Kinser of Modesto, California.  She was predeceased by a sister Nancy Swann and a brother Thomas Swann.

     A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., January 10, 2021 at Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home (NOTE LOCATION CHANGE).  Social distancing and masks will be required.  Burial will be private. The service will be livestreamed on the Shellhouse Rivers Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/srfhandsfh .

     In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to First Baptist Church, P. O. Box 3157, Aiken, SC 29802

SHELLHOUSE – RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC