Bill Harper Celebrates 100 Years of Adventure
When Bill Harper turned 100 on January 31, 2025, he celebrated the way most people only dream of—by leaping out of a perfectly good airplane.
The Sun City resident marked his milestone birthday with a tandem skydive. “It’s a real kick,” Bill said with a grin, recalling the moment he cleared the edge of the plane. “The wind shear hits you right away—that’s my favorite part.”
It wasn’t even his first jump. Bill made his skydiving debut at age 99, encouraged by fellow Sun City adventurer Betty Schleder. Last year, encouraged by Betty, he went free falling through the Texas sky with six others, including his son and Georgetown ISD Superintendent Devin Padavil.
Betty is well known for organizing jumps with centenarians—including multiple jumps with two-time world record holder Al Blaschke and even Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Bill and Betty met at the pool and quickly bonded over her tales from 13,000 feet.
Skydiving may seem like a wild way to celebrate turning 100, but for Bill, it’s just another chapter in a life packed with motion, curiosity, and courage. Born in Indiana, Pennsylvania—on the same street as Jimmy Stewart, no less—Bill’s journey has taken him around the globe and back again, all while raising a family, teaching generations of students, and living life with wide-eyed wonder.
A Life of Motion
Bill joined the Navy at 17, where he served as a flight engineer working on PBM Mariner seaplanes. “President Truman probably saved my life,” he says, recalling how the planes weren’t combat-ready when World War II broke out. He was stationed stateside, where he continued developing his knack for engines—even building a Model T from spare parts (above). It drove so well that his wife, Mariella, agreed to go for a drive in it… though she had to sit on a box.
After the war, Bill pursued a degree at California State Teachers College in Pennsylvania and began teaching science and physics—careers that, as it turned out, would take the Harper family across continents. Together with Mariella, also a teacher, they raised two sons while living and working around the world. “Our boys didn’t attend school in the U.S. until our oldest was in 11th grade,” Mariella says.
From Pakistan to Libya to Iran, the Harpers saw and did it all. Bill spent three years helping construct the world’s largest earth-filled dam in Pakistan while Mariella taught school for the children of the workers—with a view of K2 from their window.
They drove a right-hand-drive Volkswagen bus across Asia, taught in schools with more than 20 nationalities represented, and rode trains through the Japanese countryside. “We did so many things people can’t do anymore,” Mariella says. Her memoir about their travels, From the Shadows of K2 to the Shores of Tripoli, tells the whole incredible story. “Bill is the backbone of my book,” she says.
Still Soaring
After more than two decades overseas, the Harpers eventually settled in Texas. They lived for a time on a lake in Missouri — “We water skied every morning and evening,” Bill says — but moved to Sun City after his stroke made hills and stairs more difficult to navigate. “We didn’t know much about Sun City when we moved here,” Mariella admits, “but we fell in love with it.”
Today, Bill uses a walker to get around but refuses to let that slow him down. He swims regularly and takes full advantage of the fitness center. “I just don’t like to be still,” he says. At 100, he’s still curious, still learning, and still up for a thrill. “I don’t think about things or worry. I eat what I want and try to keep going.”
Bill’s sons live far apart—one near the Canadian border in Washington, the other in China, Texas — but they made it to his 100th birthday celebration, which Mariella says his sons and their wives planned and was “beautifully done” with food, decorations, and family from near and far. One former student from the school where they taught in Tarbela, Pakistan, called after seeing the photo of the VW van—originally purchased from his family—on the book cover, his voice cracking with emotion as he shared how much it meant to him. Others still write, email, or visit, some now in their 80s themselves.
Bill plans to skydive again at 101, if all goes well. He says the only letdown during his most recent jump was the lack of clouds. “The first time, we dropped right through a cloud. It was amazing,” he says. “This year I told them I wanted Alex again as my tandem instructor. It was his day off, but he came out just for me.”
As for regrets? None, though he says maybe he would’ve made a fine truck driver—having hauled loads on the Pennsylvania Turnpike during teaching summers to make extra money—but he’s glad he became a teacher. “I loved spreading information and helping students figure things out,” he says.
Asked what advice he has for anyone considering a skydive, he says simply: “Be sure to do it. It’s a big thrill.”
And then, of course, just keep going. Click here to see Mariella’s memoir on Amazon.com.