Mack A. Roper

Highlands, NC and Miami, FL - Mack A. Roper of Highlands, North Carolina, and Miami, Florida, passed away on September 14, 2013, from injuries suffered in a one vehicle accident in Highlands on August 31.

Mack was born on December 17, 1923, in Jacksonville, Florida, to John and Annie Mae Roper. After graduating from Miami High School in 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army, serving as a sergeant in the Office of Strategic Services in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. After the war, he graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Miami. He was a lifelong Hurricanes fan and named two of his businesses - Hurricane Engineering Company and Hurricane Chemical Company - after his beloved team.

Mack was a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Miami, where he served as President of the Church Council. He was an avid golfer, a Mason, Shriner, and a lifetime member of the OSS Society.

Mack is survived by his wife, Betty Barnett Roper, who he met at Miami High in the late 1930s; by his children: Tim (and Ginger) Roper of Chester, Vermont; Kathleen Roper (and Herrick Johnson) or Greenville, South Carolina; Dan Roper (and Lisa) of Rome, Georgia; and Chris Cox (and David) of Miami; by his grandchildren: Jimmy Roper, Maggie Roper, Melissa Apel, Scott Thomas, Bradley Roper Johnson, Laura Anne Roper, John Roper, Jackson Roper, David Cox and Daniel Cox; and by great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at a later date in Miami, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts in Mack's memory to St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Coral Gables, Florida, or Highlands United Methodist Church, Highlands, North Carolina.

Bryant Grant Funeral Home, Franklin NC is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences are available by visiting bryantgrantfuneralhome.com or by email.