William "Bill" Tapp Jr.

Family-Placed Death Notice

TAPP, William, Jr. WILLIAM ROY (BILL) TAPP, JR. William Roy (Bill) Tapp, Jr., 88, died Friday, May 6, 2011, after a brief illness in Marietta, Georgia. Son of William R. Tapp, Sr. and Estelle Catherine Leake Tapp, he was born May 21, 1922 and raised in Powder Springs, Georgia. He attended the Powder Springs city schools, where he graduated as valedictorian of his senior class. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in architecture from Georgia Tech while living at home and commuting to Atlanta, typically carpooling to Marietta where he boarded a street car to Atlanta. Upon graduation in 1943 he was "drafted" by Douglass Aircraft in Long Beach, CA as an engineering draftsman. Upon entering the U.S. Navy in 1945, he served in the anti-submarine fleet under the Golden Gate Bridge, and after V - J Day, skippered his boat as it led the carrier with veterans of the Baton Death March to a fire-hose salute into San Francisco Bay. As the war came to a close, he was on sub-chasers in Portland, OR and Newport, RI, as Lt. Jg., Executive Officer on USS PC 1241. In 1947 he and a classmate opened Atlanta Drafting Service on Peachtree Street designing spec homes in Buckhead and along Lenox Road, and he returned to Georgia Tech to earn his fifth-year degree in architecture. After working for Miller & Miller architects in Atlanta, in 1950 he joined Joe Bright, AIA in Valdosta. There he met Frances Paine, his future wife. Following their marriage and move to Marietta in 1953, he partnered with a fellow Tech architect to establish an architectural firm, whose first major project was design of the initial campus and buildings of what is now Southern Polytechnic State University. In 1954 he opened his own firm, William R. Tapp, Jr. Architect & Associates, AIA, which for almost half a century delivered commercial and institutional design services focused in Cobb County. A member of the American Institute of Architects, he was active in numerous related professional organizations. Products of his varied architectural practice included numerous metro Atlanta churches, schools, public and business buildings. He served for 56 years in the Marietta Civitan Club (past president) and more than four decades on the Cobb County advisory board of the Salvation Army (Life member), as well on other civic and business boards. He was a director of Cobb Federal Savings & Loan; the Cobb Recreation Authority; and was appointed by Gov. Joe Frank Harris to the state Health Planning Review Board. A true southern gentleman, he was ready with a smile and encouragement, always intent on making others feel at ease. He will be remembered by many for his exacting eye for detail, his love of jazz, his marvelous style as a dance partner, and his devotion as a husband and father. A gregarious favorite of young people as well as his peers, he was a kind, unassuming and big-hearted friend to many. After retirement he became an enthusiastic student of ancient history, and generous gardener who shared dozens of bouquets of camellia blossoms with family and friends each spring. He is predeceased by his parents, his half-sister Margaret Virginia Tapp, cousin Sarah Frances Miller, and his wife of 46 years, Frances Briscoe Paine Tapp of Valdosta. He is survived by their only child Helen Preston Tapp Montgomery and son-in-law James M. Montgomery of Atlanta, and a sister-in-law Dorothy Dalton Paine of Valdosta. In addition to a wide circle of close neighbors and friends, he is survived by cousins, three generations of fond nieces and nephews, and his son-in-law's children and grandchildren. The family will receive guests at Mayes Ward Funeral Home in Marietta on Monday, May 9th from 2:00 to 4:00 PM and from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Following a graveside service for the family in Powder Springs, a memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 10th at 2:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta. Arrangements are being handled by Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home in Marietta. Memorials may be directed to the Salvation Army of Cobb County, or the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Georgia. Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home & Crematory in Marietta is in charge of arrangements. www.mayeswarddobbins.com