JANICE MARIE BAPPE
Janice Marie Bappe, age 92, died unexpectedly at home March 4. Miss Bappe was born in 1925 in Ames, Iowa, to Lena Nelson and Edwin Bappe, and grew up in Mason City and Fort Dodge, Iowa. After high school in Fort Dodge, she entered nurses’ training at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, and then, on something of a whim, took her first job in Hawaii at Kahuku Medical Center. In 1953, she joined the Army as a nurse and was stationed in Germany. She returned to Hawaii after, purchased the home in Waikiki where she lived until her death, and continued her career with tuberculosis patients at Leahi Hospital and then in maternity at Tripler Army Hospital until her retirement in the late 1980s. Miss Bappe, although not a native, was devoted to Hawaii and Honolulu. A resident since the early 1950s, she voted ‘no’ on the 1959 state referendum for admission to statehood. She was active at her local community board and often visited the state legislature to testify regarding proposed legislation, especially on quality of life issues. She gave up her car after retirement and walked or took the bus all over Hononlulu; many may remember seeing her, always in a mu’umu’u, coming home from shopping or walking in her beloved Kapiolani Park. Miss Bappe is survived by her nephew Mark Libbey, of NJ, and grand-niece, Anna Carl, of California. A memorial gathering will take place at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel on Sunday, July 1, from 11am-1pm.
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