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Services
As per John’s direction all funeral services will be held privately.
John F. Kapp age 94 of Wayne passed Sunday, January 18, 2015.
He was born and raised in the family home in Newark. He moved to the Packanack Lake Section of Wayne in 1952 when his wife Fran insisted they invest in a house even though he was scared to pay the $14,000 mortgage. They borrowed the down payment from Fran’s sister Mildred.
John met a pretty girl named Frances Bennett at Joe Keelys’ Tavern in Newark “only 72 steps from Broadway”. John was told to propose to Fran by his mother who said “marry that girl and make it legal.” They married on September 29, 1945 at Saint Bridget’s Church on Plain Street in Newark. They honeymooned in Virginia Beach and had enjoyed sixty-seven years of loving and devoted marriage until Fran’s passing on August 23, 2012. Fran’s passing really knocked the wind out of his sails. Their deal was John was supposed to go first!
John’s first job was as a bowling-pin setter and he also delivered ice as a young man. From the age of nineteen he worked for the Walter Kidde Corporation in Belleville. He was known as a “natural engineer” as he had no formal engineering training but was employed as an aerospace engineer for many years. He worked until the age of sixty and only left because the company relocated out of New Jersey. He later worked for Valcor Engineering for ten years before formally retiring in 1990.
John was a volunteer for the Wayne Township Memorial First Aid Squad and served as President of the squad in 1965. He was a member of the Nutley Elks Lodge, volunteered at the Elks Camp Moore, and chaired the Handicapped Children’s Committee for several years. He also helped to build the Holy Spirit RC Church in Pequannock and made his children volunteer along with him.
John was a great dad - you couldn’t ask for better; he thought nothing of piling the kids in the car to go crabbing for the day at the Jersey Shore. On one occasion he took all his kids to the shore but never put sunscreen on them. Everyone wound up with burns and blisters the next day. He also loved to swim. He liked it so much he would forget to keep after his eight children who were running around this way and that, on the beach. Eventually they would hear a whistle as one or more were being held up by the lifeguards in an effort to find the parent of the sobbing lost child. He loved spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was especially amazed by the technology that let him Skype with his great-granddaughter Lilja Jene! Friends from all over the country and the world were regular visitors to the Kapp household in Packanack, where everyone was welcome and fed! John never met a stranger; everyone loved him and truly felt welcome in his home. He was the kind of person who would do anything for you. He enjoyed deep sea fishing and was always dropping his pipe into the water. He had a fun, easygoing disposition and as his children grew their relationship transformed from parent-child to that of best friends.
He was the loving husband of the late Frances Kapp (August 23, 2012); loving father of the late Joanne Kapp (1956), the late J. Frederick Kapp (1996); Anita Kapp of Arvada, CO, Melanie Walk and her husband John of Monroe, NY, Gordon Kapp and his wife Gail of Lyndhurst, NJ, Andrew Kapp of Aurora, CO, Greg Kapp of NJ, Suzanne Mahoney and her husband Bob of Wayne, NJ, and Pamela Sachs-Kapp of Fort Collins, CO; cherished grandfather of Joanne Kapp, Kaity Walk and Jennifer Lebron, Sara Walk, Billy Kapp and his wife Lauren, Emily Kapp, Brian Kapp, Elizabeth Kapp and her fiancée Garrett Maki, Morgan Kapp and his wife Sarah, Justin Kapp, Logan Kapp, Shannon Mahoney, and Jake Mahoney; much loved great-grandfather of Maggie Kapp and Lilja Jene Maki, with another expected on March 13, 2015, and yet another expected on April 20, 2015; much loved brother-in-law of Jack A. Bennett.
John, “Pop-Pop” will be dearly missed by his loving Family. His sweet demeanor and propensity to break out into song or laughter were traits cherished by every life that he touched, he was loved by many and never made an enemy his whole life. We the family are truly heartbroken and will have a huge void in our hearts now that he has left our lives but are happy knowing that Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom are together again watching over us from heaven.
Those considering a gesture of kindness such as flowers or food are asked to consider St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
As per John’s direction all funeral services will be held privately.
Services
As per John’s direction all funeral services will be held privately.
John F. Kapp age 94 of Wayne passed Sunday, January 18, 2015.
He was born and raised in the family home in Newark. He moved to the Packanack Lake Section of Wayne in 1952 when his wife Fran insisted they invest in a house even though he was scared to pay the $14,000 mortgage. They borrowed the down payment from Fran’s sister Mildred.
John met a pretty girl named Frances Bennett at Joe Keelys’ Tavern in Newark “only 72 steps from Broadway”. John was told to propose to Fran by his mother who said “marry that girl and make it legal.” They married on September 29, 1945 at Saint Bridget’s Church on Plain Street in Newark. They honeymooned in Virginia Beach and had enjoyed sixty-seven years of loving and devoted marriage until Fran’s passing on August 23, 2012. Fran’s passing really knocked the wind out of his sails. Their deal was John was supposed to go first!
John’s first job was as a bowling-pin setter and he also delivered ice as a young man. From the age of nineteen he worked for the Walter Kidde Corporation in Belleville. He was known as a “natural engineer” as he had no formal engineering training but was employed as an aerospace engineer for many years. He worked until the age of sixty and only left because the company relocated out of New Jersey. He later worked for Valcor Engineering for ten years before formally retiring in 1990.
John was a volunteer for the Wayne Township Memorial First Aid Squad and served as President of the squad in 1965. He was a member of the Nutley Elks Lodge, volunteered at the Elks Camp Moore, and chaired the Handicapped Children’s Committee for several years. He also helped to build the Holy Spirit RC Church in Pequannock and made his children volunteer along with him.
John was a great dad - you couldn’t ask for better; he thought nothing of piling the kids in the car to go crabbing for the day at the Jersey Shore. On one occasion he took all his kids to the shore but never put sunscreen on them. Everyone wound up with burns and blisters the next day. He also loved to swim. He liked it so much he would forget to keep after his eight children who were running around this way and that, on the beach. Eventually they would hear a whistle as one or more were being held up by the lifeguards in an effort to find the parent of the sobbing lost child. He loved spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was especially amazed by the technology that let him Skype with his great-granddaughter Lilja Jene! Friends from all over the country and the world were regular visitors to the Kapp household in Packanack, where everyone was welcome and fed! John never met a stranger; everyone loved him and truly felt welcome in his home. He was the kind of person who would do anything for you. He enjoyed deep sea fishing and was always dropping his pipe into the water. He had a fun, easygoing disposition and as his children grew their relationship transformed from parent-child to that of best friends.
He was the loving husband of the late Frances Kapp (August 23, 2012); loving father of the late Joanne Kapp (1956), the late J. Frederick Kapp (1996); Anita Kapp of Arvada, CO, Melanie Walk and her husband John of Monroe, NY, Gordon Kapp and his wife Gail of Lyndhurst, NJ, Andrew Kapp of Aurora, CO, Greg Kapp of NJ, Suzanne Mahoney and her husband Bob of Wayne, NJ, and Pamela Sachs-Kapp of Fort Collins, CO; cherished grandfather of Joanne Kapp, Kaity Walk and Jennifer Lebron, Sara Walk, Billy Kapp and his wife Lauren, Emily Kapp, Brian Kapp, Elizabeth Kapp and her fiancée Garrett Maki, Morgan Kapp and his wife Sarah, Justin Kapp, Logan Kapp, Shannon Mahoney, and Jake Mahoney; much loved great-grandfather of Maggie Kapp and Lilja Jene Maki, with another expected on March 13, 2015, and yet another expected on April 20, 2015; much loved brother-in-law of Jack A. Bennett.
John, “Pop-Pop” will be dearly missed by his loving Family. His sweet demeanor and propensity to break out into song or laughter were traits cherished by every life that he touched, he was loved by many and never made an enemy his whole life. We the family are truly heartbroken and will have a huge void in our hearts now that he has left our lives but are happy knowing that Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom are together again watching over us from heaven.
Those considering a gesture of kindness such as flowers or food are asked to consider St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105.
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