CLEVELAND, Ohio-Call and Post owner and publisher Don King (pictured), a Cleveland native and renowned international boxing promoter, wrote a farewell letter dated Nov. 12 to the newspaper about associate publisher and executive editor Constance "Connie" Harper (pictured), 81, who died Oct 24 after a heart condition after falling ill a week earlier at the homecoming of Central State University, her Alma Mater. Harper was also a former vice president of Don King Productions and promoted fights for King, 83,  across the world.

The letter from multi-millionaire Don King about Connie Harper, which is published in this week's print edition of the Call and Post, a Cleveland weekly that targets the Black community and is also distributed in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, is as follows:

Our friendship was eternal.

Never again will I come across a friend such as Connie Harper, nor shall I hold in confidence such a colleague at my side. As I have traveled the globe, from the Great Wall of China, to the African Congo, from New York City skyscrapers, to the many thoroughfares of Cleveland – and all parts between and beyond, Connie was there.

While I have often been able to grasp words to properly describe the many people and places I have come into contact with, I, or anyone else, would be at a loss to cover the immensity of explaining all that Connie has been. It is an unparalleled rarity that one comes across such a person over the course of a lifetime, and I am humbled and honored to have been in her alliance for all of these years.

I have known Connie and the Harper family for the vast majority of my life. From childhood to adulthood and for the entirety of that time, Connie was a woman of the highest integrity. That integrity extended to all reaches of her stellar existence. While in the depth and mournful clutches of the void her loss leaves, the world should celebrate, as I do, that she once walked among us and with us.

The name Constance derives from a Latin word meaning “constant,”  indeed a befitting summation of a life well-defined. The title of her longtime Call & Post column “Constantly Yours,” served more as an announced covenant between her and the community, more so than a matter of pronounced publishing.She is a witness to history; its sadness and its glory.

She stood with the downtrodden. She remained unflinching in the cold and stark face of adversity. She was ever hopeful with hard work, prayer and persistence. It is rare to come across a lady of her stature, with an array of regal qualities, high intellect and sense of high ideals of loyalty and honor that so effortlessly remained in touch with the common man.

The Connie I knew was courageous. She was fiercely protective of her friends, family and loved ones. In turn, they highly favored her. Her trustworthiness was utmost. Her devotion was absolute. And her loyalty unbreakable. As a confidant, she knew so much about so many, but said very little.

Let me be clear to extol that the virtues of this woman were self-earned. Never was she handed her many positions of esteemed accomplishments. Everything she achieved in life was well-deserved. Even during times of trials and tribulations, when the road she traveled was rocky and her path was surrounded with thorns and thistles, she emerged on the side of righteousness with her head held high.

Indeed, the Connie I knew was truly remarkable. She possessed the patience of Job in the story of the hedge and the bravery of Esther in the court of King Ahasuerus. Often tested, but never broken, she was sagacious in matters needing to be judged and kind to those in need of a helping hand.

Never again will we see such a servant to the community, and never again will I have a friend like Connie Harper. Constant and eternal, Connie, you will be missed dearly.

Your friend,

Donald [Don King]

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) /(www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)