Decades-long Harper advocate Kris Howard passes away

Harper College recently lost a pillar of our community. Dorothy “Kris” Howard passed away on March 13 at the age of 98. Kris was a fierce advocate for Harper and her enthusiasm for serving her community appeared limitless.

A proud supporter of the college from its beginnings in the late 1960s, Kris initially promoted Harper as a community member, even organizing Harper’s first women’s history celebration in 1980. Kris was elected to the Harper College Board of Trustees in 1981 and continued in that role for 24 years, twice serving as chair. Upon stepping down, she joined the Harper College Educational Foundation Board of Directors. When her first husband died in 1993, Kris established the Dr. Ernest B. and Mrs. D. Kris Howard Endowment for Community Service. True to her passion, the scholarship includes a service requirement.

To honor her decades of service and many contributions to the college, Harper named the road that encircles the Palatine campus Kris Howard Drive. “I have a very strong feeling that the strength of our country is in local communities and families,” Kris said in 1981.

The college expresses its deepest sympathies to her family and friends. A service will take place 11 a.m. Saturday, June 1, at the Presbyterian Church of Barrington. In lieu of flowers, her family is recommending donations be made to her namesake scholarship with Harper’s Educational Foundation or the Northwest Community Hospital Foundation. Read more about Kris.