Obituary of Deborah Harper
Deborah S. Harper (Debbie) of Pound Ridge, NY, was born in San Mateo, California, on April 22, 1932, the daughter of George Chaffee Stoddard, Sr. and Mary Beatrice (Dingle) Stoddard. The family moved to Scarsdale, NY when Debbie was nine years old.
She graduated with a B.A. degree in Music from Smith College in 1954. Music was a part of Debbie’s life before and after college. As a Smithie, she sang and toured Europe with the Octavians octet. She met her future husband, Wallace Russell Harper, Jr., when the Octavians and Wally’s Bowdoin College jazz group, the Polar Bear Five, were part of a 42-student group called “The Kids from Home” that toured U.S. Air Force Bases in Bermuda and the Azores.
After graduating, Debbie worked in Manhattan for the RCA Record Company, putting her accomplished pen to the task of liner notes. Debbie and Wally married in 1955 and were the parents of two children, Gordon Chaffee Harper and Emily Chamberlain Harper. While the marriage ended in divorce, Debbie and Wally remained soulmates and close friends until his death in 2022.
Debbie was an energetic reader and learner her entire life. A person who excelled at everything she put her hand to, her many interests and accomplishments included creating and collecting art (especially 18th century bird engravings); sewing; jewelry-making; and gardening. She had not only a bright and hungry mind and an impressive memory, but also a true gift for making a beautiful home and hosting friends and family for delicious home-cooked meals. Debbie brought her passion for nature to birding, to volunteer service as a conservation educator, and above all, to her sustained and significant involvement with the Pembroke Welsh Corgi breed.
She was internationally recognized for her knowledge and extraordinary contributions to the world of Pembroke Welsh Corgi fanciers, was devoted to the breed since acquiring her first corgi in 1960, and was a valued advisor and mentor to other breeders. She produced many champions under her kennel name, Walborah; served the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America and the Mayflower Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club in diverse capacities; and contributed her fine scholarship and writing to the literature of the breed, including as author of the comprehensive 1994 The New Complete Pembroke Welsh Corgi, still the best book of its kind. While she raised many generations of Corgis and bred Swedish Vallhunds, she was also the doting owner of a Birman cat, Cat-Face.
Predeceased by both parents; her brother, George Chaffee Stoddard, Jr.; her son, Gordon Chaffee Harper; and her former husband, Wallace R. Harper, Jr., Debbie leaves behind her daughter Emily Harper Erickson (Jon), as well as multiple generations of family and friends who loved her, including her Stoddard nieces and nephew and their families; her Harper siblings-in-law and their families; her lifelong friend Helen Tredwell; her Corgi Family; and her final dog, Sophie.
The family would like to express its deep gratitude to Dr. Sharon Krieger, Debbie’s physician, for her expert and respectful care of Debbie over the years, and to Susan Davidson, who gracefully provided the care which enabled Debbie to live at home in the last months of her life.
A private service will be held to commemorate Debbie’s long and meaningful life.
Memorial gifts can be made to the Mayflower Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club and The Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America Charitable Trust, Inc.
