John A Rappin

Obituary John Allen Rappin died in his sleep May 17, 2016 at St. Anne Nursing Center of Seattle. Born July 17th, 1914 in Weiser, Idaho the "Geezer from Weiser" was just two months away from his 102nd birthday. John was raised in Roseburg, Oregon by his parents, Allen and Katherine (Ternes) Rapin. The family, sister Mary Louise and brother George, moved to Tacoma in 1932 where John attended Beutel Business College. John then worked at W.S. Walter Company, which sold mill and logging supplies. He met and married Georgiana Bader in 1941 and changed their last name to Rappin. On May 17, 1943 their first child was born. Cecilia (Padfield) was followed by Karen (Jeffery), Frederick (Rebecca), Monica and Victoria Rappin. In 1943 John was inducted into the army. He was selected to study the Japanese language and sent to the University of Michigan. In December 1945 he arrived in Yokohama amid destruction from the just ended war. He was appointed chief of the Washington Document Center and assigned to enter the Imperial Palace to retrieve the original Declaration of War against the U.S. and also recovered plans for governing the west coast of America. John returned home to his job in Tacoma and in the late 60's, opened his own business, Eagle Industrial Supply, which he ran until retirement. He and Georgiana drove around the U.S. visiting all the states. He was a ranked senior tennis player on the west coast, playing into his 90's. He was the oldest and longest member of the Tacoma Elks Club, joining in the late 1930's. Georgiana died in 2010 after 68 years of marriage. John is survived by his five children; four grandchildren; and nine (and a half) great-grandchildren. John was a member of the "greatest generation". He was a kind, honest, clean-living man who loved his country, his family and friends, always with a joke to tell. He will be greatly missed. The funeral service will be held on Monday, May 23, 2016 at 11:00 am in the Chapel at Gaffney Funeral Home (1002 South Yakima Ave., Tacoma, WA). Interment at Calvary Cemetery Tacoma. Please leave online condolences at www.gaffneycares.com. Arrangements by Gaffney Funeral Home, 253-572-6003.