"RAP" 2007 Obituary

RAPHAEL  RAPLEY  RAPONI  RAPOPORT  RAPP  RAPSON 

RAPHAEL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-10-09 published
RAPHAEL, Stephen (1940-2007)
Very special husband to Chrystelle, beloved father to Danielle, best "Wicked Step-Father" to Benjy, Borra and Edward GARSON, and happy grandfather to five small grandchildren. Passed away suddenly on Saturday, October 6th at Montreal General Hospital. Chrystelle was by his side. There will be a funeral at Mount Royal Funeral Complexe, 1297 Chemin de la Foret, Outremont, on Friday, October 12th at 10: 30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Avatil, 387 40th Avenue, Lachine, Quebec H8T 2E7 in Stephen's name.

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RAPLEY o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2007-07-03 published
MALONEY, Helen or “Lena” (née PHILLIPS)
Passed away, surrounded by her family at Meaford Hospital on Friday, June 29, 2007 in her 87th year. Survived by her loving husband of 64 years, Larry (Lawrence Owen), her sons, Peter and partner Jin ZHE (Meaford, Ontario and Changchun, China,) Denny and wife Lyn (London, Ontario and Naples, Florida), Terry (London, Ontario), and Murray and wife Joani (Meaford, Ontario). Predeceased by her sons Larry, Jr. and Philip. Grandmother of Kevin and fiancée Nicole (Dallas, Texas), Craig and wife Sherry (Toronto, Ontario), Karen ZIMMERMAN and husband Craig (Oakland, Iowa,) Kelly (Pickering, Ontario), Michael (London, Ontario), Chris and Brendan (Meaford, Ontario,) and Andrea FISCHER and husband Chris (Wasaga Beach, Ontario.) Great-grandmother of Haley Navaisha MALONEY and Ava FISCHER. Predeceased by her sister, Evangeline, and her brothers, Dimitri (Jimmy) and Cyril (Carl), she is missed by sister, Nadejda (Annie) RAINVILLE (Toronto, Ontario,) her brother, Methody (Ted) PHILLIPS (Lackawanna, New York), daughter-in-law of Suzanne MALONEY. sister-in-law, Wynn (Newmarket, Ontario) and nieces and nephews, Dianne PAPADOPOLOUS, Gerry RAINVILLE, Sharon RAINVILLE, Stacey DELMONT, Shelley VRANJES, Peter PHILLIPS, Johnny PHILLIPS, Ed PHILLIPS, George MALONEY, Mike MALONEY, Mary MALONEY, Mark MALONEY, Bridget MALONEY, Carole BEST, Tommy BEAUVAIS, Peggy BEAUVAIS, Brian BEAUVAIS, Diane PIRIE, Cathy BEAUVAIS, Paul MALONEY, Tim MALONEY, Pat MALONEY, Helen HUTCHINGS, Fred RAPLEY, Penney BROWN, Elizabeth LEATHERDALE, and Georgea WAFFLE. Born May 27, 1921 in Toronto, eldest of six children born in Canada to Dina and Petre FILEFF, former Greek and Turkish subjects, from Western Macedonian mountain village of Trsye, who immigrated after World War I and adopted the anglicized name PHILLIPS. Lived on Wilkins Avenue in Cabbagetown area of Toronto. Attended Sackville Street School and Central Tech. Attended St. Cyril and Methody Macedonian Orthodox Church. Lifetime member of Daughters of Macedonia and Trsye Benevolent Society. Raised through the depression, she worked as a housekeeper and seamstress, for room and board and going dancing with sisters “Vee” and “Annie” at the Palais Royale or Masonic Temple. During the early years of World War 2 she met, and fell in love with a gentleman of the Air Corps, then Royal Canadian Air Force Airman L.O. MALONEY, to whom she was wed in 1943, after he returned from radar duty in England. Helen joined Larry when he was stationed at Royal Canadian Air Force Station Bagotville in 1944. After Sgt. MALONEY's demobilization, they started a family, living in a flat on Balsam Avenue in the Beach area of Toronto. While in Toronto, the family were members of Saint Michael's diocese. In 1951 the family moved to Point-aux-Trembles area of Montréal and later to St. Michel (1953-1972) at the northeast end of Montréal Island. While in Montréal, the family were members of St. Brendan's diocese. In 1972, moved to Scarborough, Ontario. Following Larry's early retirement in 1978, Helen and Larry wintered in Largo, Florida for 28 years of well-earned recreation and leisure time. In 2003, Helen and Larry moved to the family estate near Meaford, Ontario. Helen was the consummate homemaker, a skilled manager, budgeter, purchaser, chef, knitter, sewer, clothier, seamstress, launderer, cleaner, practical nurse and psychologist. She made it all seem easy. To children she was a cub and scout organizer, protector, comforter, supporter and healer. To her peers she was a graceful dancer, astute bridge partner, champion bowler, occasional golfer and good fun to be with at social events. To her husband, Larry, she was a lifelong friend, companion, partner and counsellor. Larry says that Helen saved him from an unstable life pursuing impractical daydreams. Between 1945 in Toronto and 1963 in Montreal, Helen gave birth to six sons. It was the great regret of her life that she never had a daughter, and so it was that she had a special affection for her nieces, grand-daughters and great-granddaughters. Helen was, in a category she herself sometimes applied to people, a “giver”. She was a good person with commendable standards of conduct and morality. Helen was always concerned about the feelings of others, always ready to lend a helping hand, always ready with a kind word. There are very few like her. She will be missed. Service held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 July 2007 at Gardiner-Wilson Funeral Home, 60 Denmark Street, Meaford, Ontario. (519) 538 2550 Visitation begins at noon. The family receives visitors at home following service. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer Society.

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RAPLEY o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2007-09-23 published
BARR was the first lifeguard at Grand Bend beach
By Lynda HILLMAN- RAPLEY, Sun Media, Sun., September 23, 2007
When Les BARR and his University of Western Ontario buddy decided Grand Bend beach needed lifeguards, they went to village council and pitched the idea.
They were given the okay as long as they built their own lifeguard stand. So they did.
And in 1946, 26-year-old BARR, whose family lived in London but vacationed in Grand Bend, was hired, along with friend David STITT, to be a lifeguard for the summer.
The Bend's first-ever lifeguard, later in life known as the Mayor of Alberta Street, BARR died recently at age 88.
BARR, who also once worked at the Lakeview Casino, studied journalism at the University of Western Ontario. He later married and had two children, Leigh and Laurie.
BARR often spoke of his Second World War buddies, Gordon ROACH and Daniel COLLINS. Friends since their teens, they enlisted, BARR said, 'cause it was the thing to do."
BARR was injured in the war -- defending a young woman in a bar brawl.
In later years, BARR worked at General Electric, where he once escorted singer Robert Goulet and actor Kate Mitchell on a cross-Canada promotion for the company.
He left General Electric in 1961 and bought an appliance store that grew to two stores and was later sold to the Patton brothers of London.
In the early 1950s, BARR built a cottage on two lots on Alberta Street in Grand Bend, hence the mayor monicker.
He retired from MF Arnsby Property management at age 65. He loved to swim, dance to big band music and was often seen cruising the Bend strip, checking out what was happening.

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RAPONI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-10-12 published
DUNN, Tamara
On Thursday, October 11, 2007 at Baycrest. Tamara DUNN, loving mother and mother-in-law of Edward and Beverly, Michelle and Lorenzo RAPONI, John-Paul and Nella, and Lois and Miron SLONINKO. Dear sister of Solomon MATTHEWS. Devoted grandmother of Daniel, Kristin, Matthew, and Leandra. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Ave., W., (3 lights west of Dufferin), for service on Friday, October 12th at 2: 30 p.m. Interment the Community Section of Pardes Shalom Cemetery. Shiva 75 Gannett Drive in Richmond Hill. Memorial donations may be made to the Tamara Dunn Fund, c/o The Benjamin Foundation, 3429 Bathurst Street, Toronto, M6A 2C3 at 416-780-0324 or www.benjamins.ca.

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RAPOPORT o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-08-09 published
RAPOPORT, Abraham, M.D., M.A., F.R.C.P.C., F.A.C.P., C.M.
On Wednesday, August 8, 2007. Beloved husband of Lailla and father of Nessa and Tobi, Ruth, Tova, Myra and Michael. Devoted brother of Louis and Rose, Morris and Shirley, Lee and Diana, Marvin and Ieda. Loving grandfather of Rebecca, Ben, Josh, Ethan, Mattie, Leora, Mati and Doria. Dedicated son, uncle, cousin and friend. Former Physician-in-Chief of The Toronto Western Hospital and Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto. Gifted diagnostician, teacher and mentor to many. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue W., on Thursday August 9, 2007 at 11: 30 a.m. Interment Shaarei Shomayim section of Bathurst Lawn Memorial Park. Shiva at 43 Avenal Drive. Donations may be made to the Dr. Abraham Rapoport Memorial Fund c/o The Benjamin Foundation, 3429 Bathurst Street, Toronto, M6A 2C3, 416-780-0324, www.benjamins.ca.

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RAPP o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2007-07-31 published
WHITE/WHYTE, Larry▼ Allan▼
Suddenly▼ in Meaford on Sunday, July 29, 2007. Larry WHITE/WHYTE of Meaford,▼ beloved husband of the former Leona ELLIS, at the age of 66. son of the late William and Margaret (FOTHERGILL) WHITE/WHYTE. Loved▼ father of Vicky COOK of Kitchener and Larry Jr. “Sam” WHITE/WHYTE of Meaford. Sadly missed grandfather of Chelsea, Colin and Cameron COOK, and Vanita WHITE/WHYTE. Dear brother of Dorothy Doran (Kenn RAPP,) Gwen (late Doug) OLIVER, Marjorie (late Reg) GIRARD, Keith (Lois) WHITE/WHYTE all of Meaford, Myrna (Ernie) ZWANCK of Brampton and Sharon (late Paul) DUNN of Meaford. Predeceased by a brother Laverne WHITE/WHYTE and a sister Marilyn (late Edward) McQUARRIE. Remembered also by brothers-in-law Kenneth and Ronald ELLIS of Meaford and by his many nieces and nephews and their families. A private family service of committal and interment of Larry's cremated remains will be conducted at Lakeview Cemetery in Meaford officiated by Reverend Gary PARKER. As your expression of sympathy, donations to the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated and may be made through the Ferguson Funeral Home, 48 Boucher St. E., Meaford N4L 1B9 (519-538-1320) to whom arrangements have been entrusted.

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RAPP o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2007-08-01 published
WHITE/WHYTE, Larry▲▼ Allan▲▼
Suddenly▲▼ in Meaford on Sunday, July 29, 2007. Larry WHITE/WHYTE of Meaford,▲▼ beloved husband of the former Leona ELLIS, at the age of 66. son of the late William and Margaret (FOTHERGILL) WHITE/WHYTE. Loved▲▼ father of Vicky COOK of Kitchener and Larry Jr. “Sam” WHITE/WHYTE of Meaford. Sadly missed grandfather of Chelsea, Colin and Cameron COOK, and Vanita WHITE/WHYTE. Dear brother of Dorothy DORAN (Kenn▼ RAPP,) Gwen (late Doug) OLIVER, Marjorie (late Reg) GIRARD, Keith (Lois) WHITE/WHYTE all of Meaford, Myrna (Ernie) ZWANCK of Brampton and Sharon (Paul) DUNN of Meaford. Predeceased by a brother Laverne WHITE/WHYTE and a sister Marilyn (late Edward) McQUARRIE. Remembered▼ also by brothers-in-law Kenneth and Ronald ELLIS of Meaford and by his many nieces and nephews and their families. A private family service of committal and interment of Larry's cremated remains will be conducted at Lakeview Cemetery in Meaford officiated by Reverend Gary PARKER. As your expression of sympathy, donations to the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated and may be made through the Ferguson Funeral Home, 48 Boucher St. E., Meaford N4L 1B9 (519-538-1320) to whom arrangements have been entrusted.

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RAPP o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2007-08-01 published
WHITE/WHYTE, Larry▲ Allan▲
Suddenly▲ in Meaford on Sunday, July 29, 2007. Larry WHITE/WHYTE of Meaford,▲ beloved husband of the former Leona ELLIS, at the age of 66. son of the late William and Margaret (FOTHERGILL) WHITE/WHYTE. Loved▲ father of Vicky COOK of Kitchener and Larry Jr. “Sam” WHITE/WHYTE of Meaford. Sadly missed grandfather of Chelsea, Colin and Cameron COOK, and Vanita WHITE/WHYTE. Dear brother of Dorothy DORAN (Kenn▲ RAPP,) Gwen (late Doug) OLIVER, Marjorie (late Reg) GIRARD, Keith (Lois) WHITE/WHYTE all of Meaford, Myrna (Ernie) ZWANCK of Brampton and Sharon (Paul) DUNN of Meaford. Predeceased by a brother Laverne WHITE/WHYTE and a sister Marilyn (late Edward) McQUARRIE. Remembered▲ also by brothers-in-law Kenneth and Ronald ELLIS of Meaford and by his many nieces and nephews and their families. A private family service of committal and interment of Larry's cremated remains will be conducted at Lakeview Cemetery in Meaford officiated by Reverend Gary PARKER. As your expression of sympathy, donations to the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated and may be made through the Ferguson Funeral Home, 48 Boucher St. E., Meaford N4L 1B9 (519-538-1320) to whom arrangements have been entrusted.

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RAPSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-11-07 published
RAPSON, Major the Reverend Alexander (1907-2007)
Alex was born in Kerwood, Ontario, 25 November 1907 and died at Champlain Retirement Manor, Orillia November 4, 2007. He graduated from University of Western Ontario (B.A.-1933) and from Emmanuel College (B.D.-1936). He served in the pastorates of Rutherford, Sombra, Kirkton, Burgessville, Parker Street, Sarnia, Main Street Exeter, Hyatt Avenue, London and John Wesley, Sault Ste Marie. From 1943 to 1946 he was a member of the Canadian Chaplain Corps serving with the Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury regiment on the west coast and with the 48th Highlanders in Italy and Holland. He retired in 1971 and lived at various times in Port Coquitlam, Sarnia and Oakville.
He was predeceased by his sisters Jean (1976) and Philena (1992), and his wife Grace (2005). He is survived by his children David (Judith), Medonte Twp., Louise in Campbell River, British Columbia, grandchildren Kenneth McLEOD (Alison McQUEEN,) Hamilton, Stephen RAPSON (Valerie) Midhurst, Ann LACASSE (Geoff), Campbell River, and Katherine RAPSON (Jeff CARSON,) London, Ontario and great-granddaughters Jessica RAPSON, Samantha RAPSON, Olivia CARSON and Nicole CARSON.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 11th at 4 p.m. in Saint Paul's United Church, Orillia. Cremation has taken place. Interment will be held in the family plot Strathroy Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to Saint Paul's United Church, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, Paso Por Paso or a charity of your choice would be appreciated and will be received by the Simcoe Funeral Home, 38 James St. E. Orillia, Ontario L3V 1L1 866-399-6499.

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RAPSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-11-26 published
Rev. Alex RAPSON, 99: Clergyman
Chaplain who endured the horrors of war is still remembered in Holland
To tend to the wounded and bury the dead, he never left anyone behind even if it meant entering a minefield. To escape a barrage, he once had to dive into the grave of his dead Commanding Officer
By Ron CSILLAG, Page S10
April, 1945, the district of Voorst, in the east-central Dutch province of Gelderland. The storied 48th Highlanders of Canada had arrived from Italy, where the regiment lost at least 250 men killed in action, plus another 1,000 wounded. Even so, the fruit trees were in bloom and the Nazi enemy a month away from surrendering. An end to the war was in sight, but the task ahead was no less daunting.
Handed the job of liberating 12 towns and villages in that part of the Netherlands, the Highlanders' first battalion massed on the free side of the Ijssel River. After engineers built a beachhead, they called for tank and artillery support.
Captain Alexander RAPSON, a United Church minister and one of two chaplains attached to the unit, was used to artillery fire and not bothered by it. "But holy doodle, the concussion of those shells passing so closely over us was great enough to lift the ground sheet covering me to keep out the drizzle and then let it fall back on my face," he wrote just a year ago in the Highlanders' newsletter, The Falcon. "There was no sleep while the shelling lasted."
In that thunderous barrage, a sergeant and the padre - then 36, older than most of the officers - set out by jeep for a regimental aid post. They turned downriver, drove through a marked-off minefield and arrived at the designated Dutch farm near the edge of the bridgehead.
"The shells arrived while I was trying to console a stretcher bearer who had brought in our first casualty with both feet missing," Mr. RAPSON recalled. "I had to leave him since one of those shells had blown one of his companions to pieces. The shell had landed dead centre in his ammunition pouches and hand grenades, all of which exploded, literally blowing him to bits, leaving his head and shoulders bare-naked like a Caesar's bust." Two companies had to march by the remains before they were buried on the spot since a battle gravesite had not yet been established.
"Tough stuff, eh?" Mr. RAPSON queried. "I'd forgive you, if, like the stretcher bearer, you said, 'That is as far as I can go.' "
It was a bad day that turned worse. While Mr. RAPSON tended to the dead and comforted the dying, the sergeant brought in the regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Donald MacKENZIE. He had taken a chunk of shrapnel right in the heart. The padre dug a shallow, makeshift grave, then heard a shell whistling in his direction. With nowhere to run, he dived into the grave, on top of the body. It probably saved his life.
The last two hours of daylight were spent searching in vain for the body of a missing Highlander, as Mr. RAPSON was responsible for burying all dead. He did not remember where he slept that night, but awoke to find a local telling him that the soldier's body was in his garage. Mr. RAPSON, his driver and an assistant were now eight hours behind their unit.
That was April 12, 1945 - a single day in battle.
Would he have done it all over again? "You bet your life we would!" he exclaimed at last year's Remembrance Day ceremony at Queen's Park in Toronto, where the Highlanders lay a wreath each November 11. "We would because we love this land and would give our lives to keep it free."
Scores more casualties, including burying 16 more dead, awaited the chaplain in those five horrible early spring days. He never left anyone behind, in either the Dutch and Italian campaigns, even if it meant going into a minefield to retrieve a fallen soldier (which he did once by walking in the tracks of a blown-up jeep). In battle, he toted an ever-present leather case that contained communion wafers, a goblet and a Union Jack to drape on an altar. He kept meticulous records of every soldier killed or wounded - when, where, and the nature of the wound.
"He was always in the front lines, through the smoke and shelling of combat, to be with his soldiers," said Geordie Beal, honorary lieutenant-colonel of the Highlanders, and whose father served with Mr. RAPSON. "He was a tower of strength and comfort for our men in combat; positive, caring, upbeat… a true 48th Highlander."
His father, Alexander, a Methodist minister, died unexpectedly in Saskatchewan before Alex RAPSON was born. His mother was homesteading in northeastern Alberta and didn't learn of her husband's death for two weeks. Young Alex was raised in rural Ontario and studied engineering at Queen's University for a year before switching to the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated with an arts degree in 1933. He paid his tuition by working on Imperial Oil tankers in the summers.
Mr. RAPSON married in 1935 and graduated in divinity from Emmanuel College, the United Church of Canada seminary at the University of Toronto, the following year. After serving in several pastorates in Ontario, he enlisted in the army in 1943 and was posted first to the Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury Regiment, an artillery unit serving in British Columbia. In the summer of 1944, he was sent to Britain, and that fall he joined the 48th Highlanders and, according to the Orillia Packet and Times newspaper, replaced a padre who had been driven insane by the horrors of the battlefield.
After the war, he returned to the ministry and worked in and around Sarnia, Ontario For a time, he left the pulpit for a few years to work as editor of Dow Chemical's in-house magazine, The Maple Leaf. He wanted to combine the two callings by becoming an industrial chaplain in the chemical business around Sarnia. The idea didn't pan out, and for a while he served as a municipal councillor in Sarnia before returning to the church.
In 1971, he retired - but only from employment.
An inveterate tinkerer since his days as an engineering student, he built a wine press and made the interior for a camping van (complete with curtains he sewed himself) when he was 86 years old. At 87, he bought a computer and learned to use it. There was a new garage roof at 89, then a sugar shack he built in panels and erected in the forest at his son's farm when he was 91.
And just last year, he was a "drummer" for a crew at the Orillia dragon boat races.
He liked the occasional cigar and nip of rum. "Grandpa would enjoy saying, 'I'm going to live to 100, or die in the attempt,' eulogized his grandchildren, Steve and Kate RAPSON. Two of his great-granddaughters planned to take him to school for show-and-tell, where he was all set to teach the children to sing Roll Out the Barrel.
He also loved teaching kids how to shoot peas with a spoon, "something I thought was hilarious as a kid," said Kate RAPSON, "then dreaded when he showed my kids."
As it turned out, he died three weeks shy of his 100th birthday. On his bedside table was a framed and signed photograph of a traditional Dutch windmill draped in the Canadian flag - a gift from the mayor of the district of Voorst presented last spring to some Canadians who were touring battlefields. The visitors were stunned to hear the mayor praise the Highlanders, and "Padre RAPSON of Orillia" specifically.
"It was pure serendipity," said Richard Johnston, who was among the tourists. "The mayor didn't know we were from Orillia. When he found out we were, and that we knew Rev. RAPSON, we were treated like royalty."
For years, Mr. RAPSON had spoken little about his war experiences and probably struggled with it. "I live, like hosts of others, with these memories!" he wrote last autumn. "Has the time come when oldies like me should speak out to say that the price of freedom is high and always will be, but is worth the price?"
He reasoned: "If we go down to the Legion to 'histe' a few, please do not be too hard on us. Just keep in mind that we know some things we do not talk about."
Alexander RAPSON was born in Kerwood, Ontario, on November 25, 1907, and died in Orillia, Ontario, on November 4, 2007, of complications after a stroke. He was 99. He leaves his son, David, daughter Louise, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Grace, and two sisters, Jean and Philena.

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