Gary D. Harper, Sr. age 58, of Manassas, Virginia, passed away on December 21, after a bout with brain cancer. Gary was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Ota Montgomery and Ona Rosetta Nester of Dugspur. He will be missed by his loving mother, Mildred Vermillion, and step father, Kenneth Vermillion, both of Silver Spring, Maryland; one son, Detective Gary Damon Harper, Jr., of the Snellville, Georgia Police Department; one brother & sister-in-law Douglas A. & Bernadette Cox Harper, and a niece, Andrea B. Harper, all of Chantilly, Virginia.

Gary was born on December 7, 1950, in Washington, D.C. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland, in 1969. He earned a 4 year degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, and worked 26 years for the Social Security Administration, in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Manassas, Virginia.

Funeral services will be held at Vaughan-Guynn-McGrady Chapel on December 27, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Elmon Thompson officiating. He will be laid to rest with military honors in the Montgomery Family Cemetery, located at his maternal ancestral home in Dugspur, Virginia. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday, beginning at 1:00 PM prior to the funeral service.