Local Grocery Magnate Dies

DONALD HARP SPENT 40 YEARS LEADING STATE’S LARGEST PRIVATE GROCERY CHAIN

— Northwest Arkansas mourns the death of Springdale businessman Donald Leon Harp, who spent more than 40 years at the helm of the state’s largest private grocery chain, Harps Foods.

Harp died early Saturday from a long illness surrounded by his family at home, just one week after his 83rd birthday.

“We lost a great man, entrepreneur and innovator in our friend, Don Harp. He cared about this community and worked tirelessly giving his time, talents and funding to help others,” said Roger Collins, chief executive officer at Harps Foods.

Harp was the eldest son of Harps Grocery founders Harvard and Floy Harp who started the family business in Springdale amid the Depression.

With $500 they saved from picking fruit in California a few years before, the Harp family opened for business at Emma Avenue and Water Street in 1930. Don Harp was 2 years old at the time.

TIMELINE

Donald Leon Harp

Born Jan. 6, 1928, in Springdale.

Harps Cash Grocery opened in 1930.

Harp graduated from Springdale High School in 1946.

Married Martha Miller in 1951.

University of Arkansas graduate and served in the Army from 1946 to 1948 and Air Force from 1951 to 1953.

Don and father Harvard opened Food Palace in Springdale 1954.

Springdale’s first modern supermarket, Harps IGA, opened in 1956.

Father dies in 1968, elevating Don to Harps president.

Harps flagship store was built at corner of Gutensohn and Sunset in Springdale in 1974.

Brother Reland dies in auto accident in 1986 and sister Judy died in motorcycle accident in 1987.

In 1989, Harps acquired seven stores, five in Oklahoma.

In 1994, Harp retired as president, promoting brother Gerald to that post. Wife Martha died of cancer.

In 1995, Harp sold his interest in Harps back to the company, setting the stage for Harps employee ownership plan which became effective in 2001.

In 1999, Harp married Jeanne Justis.

In 2003, Harp helped start the Springdale Benevolent Fund charity to benefit the Rodeo of the Ozarks, an event he was instrumental in establishing for Springdale and the surrounding region in 1944.

Source: Staff Report

While Harp’s net worth ranked him as the 20th wealthiest Arkansan in 2000 by Arkansas Business, he wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Harp said in 2005 he cut his teeth in the family’s grocery business alongside brothers Reland and Gerald who each worked as box boys back when the small business delivered groceries in a pickup.

While attending the University of Arkansas, Harp said he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps because it paid $50 a month. “Being married, the money came in handy,” he said.

After serving tours in the Army and Air Force, Harp said he came home to Springdale in 1954 and approached his father about helping him open a grocery store of his own. Harvard Harp became a silent partner in the grocery business and returned to farming in 1941.

“I went to dad and asked him about opening a joint partnership that my brothers could join if they ever wanted. That’s how the family business carried on,” Harp said.

From 1954 to Don Harp’s retirement in 1994, Harps Grocery expanded from its single Springdale site to nearly 50 stores. Harp gave Northwest Arkansas its first modern-era supermarket when the 15,000-square-foot Harps IGA opened in 1956.

In 1968, Harp was elevated to company president when his father died in a fishing accident.

Harp is credited with the exponential growth of the family business that occurred on his 40-year watch.

“We just bought up a few stores along the way when we had the opportunity because we had a desire to grow. You can’t just stand still,” Harp said as he reflected on the company’s 75th anniversary in 2005.

Today, Harps Foods employs nearly 3,500 with 65 stores in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

While the grocery veteran admitted the road was not always smooth, Harp said there is nothing he would change about his days in the family business.

He said the secret to the business’ long-term success was the fact everyone on board was willing to roll up their sleeves and work.

Harp stood face-to-face with Bentonville-based Walmart, Kroger and Safeway and still managed to carve out more than $300 million in annual sales by his retirement.

The company’s success has been referred to as a textbook model for other small businesses to follow.

Collins said Harp will also be long remembered for a lifetime of community service.

He was an Eagle Scout and served as a member and officer of the Springdale Kiwanis Club, was a Legion of Honor member and received the George F. Hixson Fellowship Award.

Harp served as president of Springdale Country Club and board member of the Associated Wholesale Grocers in Springfield, Mo.

He served on the Springdale Memorial Hospital Board for 30 years, as well as the Chamber of Commerce.

Harp is remembered fondly by dozens of friends, former employees and civic leaders.

Four of Springdale’s leaders said their first job was bagging groceries at a Harps Store. Mayor Doug Sprouse, city attorney Jeff Harper and former alderman Ray Dotson worked in a Springdale Harps. Perry Webb, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, worked at the Harps Foods in Walnut Ridge.

“He was a friend of Springdale,” Sprouse said. “I knew him from business and through church. He was a man of faith. He will be in Heaven for eternity.”

“The three most important things to Don were God, family and community. That’s the way he lived his life,” said Walter Benson, son-in-law.

Bill Ferguson was a longtime friend of Harp. He said the two traveled on vacations to Canada and Alaska and on hunting trips to Colorado and Wyoming. Harp liked to bring horses on the hunting trips to ride and lived in the Western Hills development that included a horse trail.

“He loved the outdoors and wanted to be outside as much as he could,” Ferguson said.

Ray Dotson looked on Harp as a mentor.

“I went to him for advice before my first council race. If I had a business problem or any problem I could go to him. He was like a father to me.”

Harp and the entire Harp family didn’t want recognition for the things they did for the community, Webb said.

“He bought the stagecoach for the rodeo,” Webb said. “He didn’t care if anyone knew. He was one of the giants of business that Springdale has lost too many of lately.”

Charles “Tex” Holt served on the Rodeo of the Ozarks board for years alongside Harp who was a staunch supporter of annual event from its inception in 1944.

Holt remembers him as a problem-solver and practical joker that kept everyone on their toes.

He said when Mace Howell, an older board member, fell asleep at a meeting Harp slapped the table to wake him up then pretended to talk. Howell fumbled around for his hearing aid, thinking it was not working. Another board member had to tell Howell that Harp was fooling him.

“He loved his business, he loved people and he loved the rodeo,” Holt said.

His five daughters looked up to him as someone who could solve their problems, turn a negative into a positive and keep them laughing, they said, many times with a practical joke.

“He was my rock, my father and my best friend,” said Tina Clouse, daughter No. 4.

Harp was preceded in death by his parents, wife Martha Miller Harp, grandson Bryan Reynolds, brother Reland Harp and sister Judy Harp Van Hoose

He is survived by wife Jeanne Justis Harp and four daughters, Julie Priest, Patti Pianalto, Dawn Benson, Tina Clouse and Gina Bell. He also is survived by three stepchildren, 19 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

At A Glance

Funeral Services

Visitation is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Sisco Funeral Chapel of Springdale.

Services are set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Cross Church.

Charitable contributions can made to the Springdale Kiwanis Club Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 652, Springdale, AR 72765, or the Oklahoma or Arkansas chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011.

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