Red Oak community, school mourns loss of teacher

 The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” filled Red Oak High School’s gymnasium Friday morning, closely followed by scattered sniffles and sobs. 

Five clergymen and one speaker sat in silence behind bouquets of flowers, lit candles and smiling photographs, trying to remember the words they would use to try to bring comfort to the large crowd. 

As the song ended, more than 500 students, teachers and community members remained silent, almost as if they were silently begging for words to comfort them during their grieving. 

They had lost a teacher, colleague, mother, significant other and friend. 

Kara Sherman read a letter from Harter’s significant other, Mark Vermillion. His letter said nothing was more important to Harter than her sons, George, Gilman and Gus Cooper. 

“I know the boys not only lost a mother, but a real friend,” Sherman read. 

Choking back tears, Sherman finished the heartfelt letter with a simple “Anne, I miss you.” 

Following the memorial service, people gathered in the hallway at the high school to hug and share kind words about the late high school English teacher. 

Hung along a wall was a large chalkboard-type poster, left for students to write memories and messages about the teacher. 

Alicia Wegman wrote “There was never a day you didn’t make me smile. You had such a good heart and I will miss you so much. 

Other students filled the message boards with memories of the happiness Harter brought to the school. 

“You always made me feel 100 times better when I was down,” Taylor Carrick said. “I’ll always do our ‘happy dance.’”

Before coming to Red Oak schools, Harter began her teaching career at Northwest Missouri State University. She later taught at Villisca schools, and then ran the newspaper, the Villisca Review for a while. After her newspaper stint, Harter returned to teaching and worked at Clarinda Academy and Shenandoah schools before coming to Red Oak. 

“Any time you steal a good teacher away, it’s a good thing,” said Terry Schmidt, Superintendent of Red Oak Community Schools. 

Schmidt was unaware of Harter’s passion for teaching special education because when an English position opened at the school, “she took it without any hesitation.” “I think that speaks a lot that she would step up for her organization when needed,” Schmidt said. 

Harter also touched the lives of members of the Red Oak community. Sarah Culver knew her as a woman with a lot of spunk who was kind to everyone. 

“She was part of the family,” Culver said. “We all loved her and she always made us laugh. She was a great woman who touched many people. Anyone who knew her loved her spunk.”

Harter passed away unexpectedly last Tuesday in her home. She was 49 years old. 

For her complete obituary, see P. 2A of today’s Red Oak Express.