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November 17, 2023
Services
Friends and family may visit and pay their respects to the family at Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday November 24th, from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., on Saturday November 25th, at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne.
On November 17, 2023, Jill Alison Rapp (née Kempe), 69, passed away peacefully with the comfort of her family by her side. Jill is survived by her beloved husband James, of Wayne, NJ, and their three children; Alicia and Joseph of Wayne, NJ; Talia, of Queens, NY; and sister, Ginger (Kempe) Maione, of Madison, NJ.
Born in Glen Ridge, NJ, on March 19, 1954, to parents Hugh Arthur Kempe and Thelma Fox, Jill briefly lived in Nutley before the family moved to Wayne, to the house she lived in for the rest of her life. Through Sunday visits to Verps Bakery, or their yearly trips to the Cape, her tight-knit family was always there for each other. Jill attended Wayne Hills High School, and in lieu of traditional college, followed her artistic passion for performing music.
While in elementary school, Jill taught herself guitar which was the start of many years of playing, songwriting and singing. At fifteen years old, she and her sister attended Woodstock ’69, storming into the festival on the hood of a car. This love of music led to her fronting several bands—Eli Stone, The Crayons, and Burgundy Mist, to name a few—before performing solo as Jill Alison at any and every venue she could.
A lifelong lover of horses, Jill fondly recalled early riding lessons on her favorite horse, Comet, or dreams of owning her own Black Friesian Stallion to ride at a whim.
Jill’s work history was as varied as her interests. From the local video store, the assembly line at the cookie factory, and as a telemarketer, it wasn’t until later in life she found her calling in real estate. As an agent for Nico Reality, RE/MAX, and finally finding a home at Realty Executives, she exuded a no-nonsense confidence which garnered both her customers’ and co-workers’ respect.
She would often be seen at the breakfast table or at the school pick-up line reading her current literary obsession, or doing the New York Times Crossword puzzle in bright blue pen—never trifling with pencils. Every conversation someone found themselves in with her—often around the kitchen table over a vodka & Peach Snapple or martini—held a thoughtful, spirited (and often swear-filled) conversation. She made you feel smarter by association and was quick to have you laughing with her brutally-honest, yet always-empathetic point of view. In a world of people walking on eggshells, Jill stepped firmly in the direction she wanted to go.
Everyone who met Jill loved her, but none more than her husband, James. They met in 1977 on a softball field, and Jill knew a home run when she saw it. It wasn’t long before she was at his mother’s house for Sunday dinners with the rest of the family—having a bourbon with his father, Joseph, and sister, Felicia. She met Felicia’s son, Robbie when he was drooling into a can of Charles Chips and loved him ever since. She found easy conversations with Bob, and laughing fits with Margaret, James’ brother and other sister. Matriarch, Anita, took Jill under her cooking wing, even complimenting Jill’s sauce many years later—the highest praise. Everyone who saw Jim and Jill knew they were a match, especially Jill’s mother. Their families merged easily, leading the way to form their own.
Jill’s three lights of her life were her children: Alicia, Talia, and Joseph. A devoted mother, she sacrificed anything and everything to give her children every happiness and comfort. But Jill’s personal brand of motherhood didn’t stop with her own children; she looked out for all her many nieces and nephews. Always good for a sarcastic comeback, sharp joke, or sage advice, Jill would earn the mantle of ‘favorite,’ by many.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends and family may visit and pay their respects to the family at Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday November 24th, from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., on Saturday November 25th, at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne.
November 17, 2023
Services
Friends and family may visit and pay their respects to the family at Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Friday November 24th, from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., on Saturday November 25th, at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 1799 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne.
On November 17, 2023, Jill Alison Rapp (née Kempe), 69, passed away peacefully with the comfort of her family by her side. Jill is survived by her beloved husband James, of Wayne, NJ, and their three children; Alicia and Joseph of Wayne, NJ; Talia, of Queens, NY; and sister, Ginger (Kempe) Maione, of Madison, NJ.
Born in Glen Ridge, NJ, on March 19, 1954, to parents Hugh Arthur Kempe and Thelma Fox, Jill briefly lived in Nutley before the family moved to Wayne, to the house she lived in for the rest of her life. Through Sunday visits to Verps Bakery, or their yearly trips to the Cape, her tight-knit family was always there for each other. Jill attended Wayne Hills High School, and in lieu of traditional college, followed her artistic passion for performing music.
While in elementary school, Jill taught herself guitar which was the start of many years of playing, songwriting and singing. At fifteen years old, she and her sister attended Woodstock ’69, storming into the festival on the hood of a car. This love of music led to her fronting several bands—Eli Stone, The Crayons, and Burgundy Mist, to name a few—before performing solo as Jill Alison at any and every venue she could.
A lifelong lover of horses, Jill fondly recalled early riding lessons on her favorite horse, Comet, or dreams of owning her own Black Friesian Stallion to ride at a whim.
Jill’s work history was as varied as her interests. From the local video store, the assembly line at the cookie factory, and as a telemarketer, it wasn’t until later in life she found her calling in real estate. As an agent for Nico Reality, RE/MAX, and finally finding a home at Realty Executives, she exuded a no-nonsense confidence which garnered both her customers’ and co-workers’ respect.
She would often be seen at the breakfast table or at the school pick-up line reading her current literary obsession, or doing the New York Times Crossword puzzle in bright blue pen—never trifling with pencils. Every conversation someone found themselves in with her—often around the kitchen table over a vodka & Peach Snapple or martini—held a thoughtful, spirited (and often swear-filled) conversation. She made you feel smarter by association and was quick to have you laughing with her brutally-honest, yet always-empathetic point of view. In a world of people walking on eggshells, Jill stepped firmly in the direction she wanted to go.
Everyone who met Jill loved her, but none more than her husband, James. They met in 1977 on a softball field, and Jill knew a home run when she saw it. It wasn’t long before she was at his mother’s house for Sunday dinners with the rest of the family—having a bourbon with his father, Joseph, and sister, Felicia. She met Felicia’s son, Robbie when he was drooling into a can of Charles Chips and loved him ever since. She found easy conversations with Bob, and laughing fits with Margaret, James’ brother and other sister. Matriarch, Anita, took Jill under her cooking wing, even complimenting Jill’s sauce many years later—the highest praise. Everyone who saw Jim and Jill knew they were a match, especially Jill’s mother. Their families merged easily, leading the way to form their own.
Jill’s three lights of her life were her children: Alicia, Talia, and Joseph. A devoted mother, she sacrificed anything and everything to give her children every happiness and comfort. But Jill’s personal brand of motherhood didn’t stop with her own children; she looked out for all her many nieces and nephews. Always good for a sarcastic comeback, sharp joke, or sage advice, Jill would earn the mantle of ‘favorite,’ by many.
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