Dickie Fred Harp

On September 5th, 2024, as you can imagine, the shenanigans must’ve really begun in Heaven as Dickie Fred Harp went home to be with family and friends who went on before him. As he left this world, he had his 3 girls and family by his side.

Dick Harp was born on November 15th, 1947 in Portales, NM to Lowell & Joy (Harp) Gardner. He was the second born of three children and I’m sure that Joy Love had no clue how much mischief this little guy would get into during his growing up years. He was a handful but that twinkle in those blue eyes and that mischievous smile melted his Mom’s heartstrings so she couldn’t stay mad at him too terribly long. Losing his Dad at an early age was hard on all of them but Joy met and married a wonderful man who raised Jimmy, Dickie & Vicki as his very own. Hutchie Boy was an amazing man who taught them all so much about life & a loving home. Hutch & Joy raised three awesome kids, but Dick definitely showed them what a true middle child was made of. If he wasn’t ditching school by hanging out in a tree watching his mom & the principal below look for him all over, he & his big brother Jim were practicing baseball pitches in the house with dozen’s of their moms home grown eggs that she was getting ready to sell. Needless to say, she wasn’t dealing with them after seeing the huge mess so they & their Dad had to clean it up. Dick & Jim were quite the characters & there was never a lack of antics where these two were concerned.

Once Dick graduated from high school, he went to work with his Uncle, Henry Townsend. Henry got him started with his building career & taught him to have a good work ethic & that your word had to be as good as gold. Henry was definitely his most cherished mentor & one of his most favorite people on this earth throughout his lifetime. Once Dick found & married his first wife, Judy Ross, he started working with Judy’s Dad, Bob Ross. He & Bob were two peas in a pod & were quite the mess together but they sure were able to leave their mark on the community of Portales, NM. They built some beautiful homes in that area and beyond. Dick, better known as “Harpski” in the construction world, went on & started his own construction business in the Roswell & Hobbs area after Bob retired. After building homes for over 50 years, there’s probably only a few areas of Roswell that don’t have a Dick Harp Construction home or at least one that he framed on the block. He had the reputation for being able to frame up some of the most beautiful and complicated custom homes that many families today love to call their own. He loved what he did and was darn good at it.

During Harpski’s mid life years, he and his friend and fellow contractor, Buddy Harbuck decided to buy their favorite hangout spot, Buds Lounge. Man did he have some of his best and most fun years in that place. He met some awesome people and was able to put a lot of smiles on people’s faces while owning and running Buds. He loved every minute playing pool, laughing and having fun with his friends and patrons of Buds. It was “his kind of place for sure.”

Between his construction business and running Buds, Dick’s most favorite pastime was his race horses. He loved having his mares bred and seeing what kind of beautiful colts & fillies he could produce. Getting to see them race on the track was his biggest thrill and accomplishment. Watching him pace back and forth with the folded up racing program in the back pocket of his newly starched Wranglers while “not so patiently waiting” for them to break through the starting gate will always be one of our favorite memories of him. He sure loved the adrenaline rush and he even got to experience the winners circle many times.

Dickie Fred’s other love was for his family. He had three daughters, Mikey, Jami & Kristi and one son, Kevin. He loved his kids with his whole heart and was so very proud of each of them. In his last few years, he called his daughters his “Mother Hens” because they tried so desperately, but with not much luck to make him eat a little healthier, drink his water (that he hated) and not let him partake in quite as much fun as he did in his earlier years. His son Kevin lives in North Carolina so he didn’t get to visit as much as he liked but Kevin made sure to make his weekly phone calls and visit as much as possible. Dad truly enjoyed hearing about all of Kevin’s military accomplishments and later his property inspection business. Dick also had his big brother, Jim and his little sister Vicki that he loved and cherished so much. They had so many good and happy memories growing up that they all loved talking about when they got together. Dickie Fred or “Doodle” as Vicki called him, thought that one of his biggest jobs in life was to watch over and take care of his baby sister. She sure had a special place in his heart and seeing her would bring the biggest smile to his face all the way to the end.

During Dick’s last few years, he developed dementia and was no longer able to work so his youngest daughter, Kristi was able to care for him in his own home. She did an amazing job trying to keep as much love and normalcy in his daily routines as possible. She took him out multiple times a day to feed and care for his horses, she took him to his favorite hangouts to see friends whom he never forgot their faces. He would still greet them with his infamous “Well Hello Amigo.” She also took him to watch his most loved Dylan’s football and baseball games which would put the biggest smile on his face. But most importantly, she made him feel loved and cared for in his last few years.

His last few months, we were able to bring him to his all-time favorite place, Ruidoso. He loved it in Ruidoso and was able to make life-long memories here by doing his favorite things, horse racing and fishing. So, there wasn’t a better place to bring him to live out the last part of his journey. He was able to be outside with the deer, elk and wild horses on a daily basis and that brought him so much joy. Mikey and Jami were able to spend daily time with him and that meant the world to them. They were able to take him out for ice cream dates, dinners at Cree Meadows and Jami even took him dancing again at his favorite Ruidoso hangout, Win Place or Show. He also loved taking drives thought the mountains and was still able to spot the wildlife a mile away. Those baby blue eyes never deceived him from seeing God’s most beautiful creations. Getting to make those final memories with our Dad was priceless and not one of us will ever be able to forget these precious moments with him.

Dickie Fred Harp was a larger-than-life kind of guy. He never met a stranger, he loved making people laugh & smile. He always said, “I’ve lived a great life, better than most. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in my life.” What a great way to live your life and to be able to say you did it how you wanted to. He leaves behind his daughter’s Mikell (Cody) McGuire of Ruidoso, Jami of Roswell, NM, Kristi of Roswell, NM, son, Kevin (Brie) of Jacksonville, NC. His brother, Jim (Barb) Harp of Dallas, TX and Sister, Vicki Donaghey of Lubbock, TX, his 11 grandchildren & three great-grands and his faithful pup, Bubba.

We will be having a celebration of life for Dick on Saturday, September 28th starting at 5pm at the Roswell Elk’s Lodge 1720 N Montana Ave, Roswell, NM. We ask that you come & share your most favorite memories of him & give us all something to smile about. Dad would’ve never wanted a sad formal ceremony so it’s going to be all about fun stories & memories. We would like to honor all of Dick’s friends, fellow contractors & those who worked for him for so many years as honorary pallbearers.

He Laughed, He Loved & He Lived…HIS WAY.