MARIE T. CAPPS

1921 - 2015

Marie Theodora Capps, 94, of Lakeview Village, Lenexa, passed away at the Overland Park Regional Hospital, July 22, 2015. She was born June 1, 1921 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the elder daughter of Steve G. and Hannah (Mathieu) Pappas. She attended Aberdeen schools until the 1930s, when her family moved to Washington State. There she graduated from Renton High School in 1939 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education at Central Washington State College. She taught in Seattle elementary schools before joining the Women's Reserve of the Marine Corps in September 1943. She served as Technical Sergeant Postal Chief of the Quantico (VA) Marine Base until the end of World War II. Retaining Marine Reserve status, she returned to teaching and in 1949 joined the Army Dependent School System to teach in Japan. While there, she met and married Raymond C. Drury, an Army Engineer officer. After Lieutenant Drury was killed in action in Korea in April 1951, Marie returned briefly to the United States, but remained with the Dependent School System and proceeded on to teach in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. On a visit to Nuremberg, she was introduced to Jack Capps, who was on duty in the U. S. Army of Occupation. After both had returned stateside, they were married in the Cadet Chapel at West Point on July 29, 1953. Marie fulfilled the obligations of an Army wife as assignments took the couple to various posts in the United States, England, Africa, and the Middle East. Son Steve was born at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1954; daughter Kate was born in August 1956 in Longview, Washington, after her father had left for Ethiopia to prepare quarters for the family's two year stay. The day before Christmas, Marie appeared in Addis Ababa with a two-year old and a nursing infant, having made a month-long journey, unaccompanied, halfway around the world. In preparation, Marie had acquired 3, 100 lbs of comestibles that were shipped with the household goods; after arrival she brooked no indoor servants, boiled water, sterilized produce, baked bread, and prepared all meals. Her foresight and vigilance carried the family safely and healthily through their African tour. Back in the U.S., Marie acquired a Master of Library Science degree, and became the Map and Manuscript Librarian of the U. S. Military Academy. She became a consultant to historians, biographers and novelists,and was an accomplished conservator of antique books and manuscripts. As a senior professor's wife, she met, assisted, and often hosted prominent military, academic, and literary figures, never neglecting the responsibilities of a mother and community activist. Two sabbaticals took Marie overseas again: the first, to Lebanon in 1971, where she participated in women's charities while Jack taught at the American University of Beirut; then, in 1980, to England when Jack was at the Royal Military Academy- Sandhurst. While in England, she activated her membership in the Fortress Study Group and subsequently attended their annual meetings and academic excursions on the Continent, Malta, Gibraltar, And Bermuda. Marie's interests were wide-ranging and intense; she readily applied her resources and talent. Experiences abroad sustained her awareness of world affairs. She was a devoted, lifelong Episcopalian, an avid stamp collector, a Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader, and a generous benefactor of charitable causes. An adaptable homemaker in various venues, she was an expert seamstress, needleworker and weaver, an efficient manager, and a superb cook. At the end of 27 years of federal service, Marie retired on July 1, 1988, at West Point, NY, coincident with her husband's retirement from military service. The couple then moved to Hanover, PA, where they were involved in various community activities. As members of the Hanover Area Historical Society, Marie and Jack in six years organized and directed sixty tours (four of them to Europe) for the Society's benefit. By 2005, declining health brought them west for closer ties with family, the formation of warm friendships at Lakeview Village, and new helpful relationships with nearby medical and business professionals. Marie was preceded in death by her parents, her older brother, Colonel George S. Pappas, and her sister, Helen Demetria Hawks. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Brig. Gen.(ret) Jack Capps of the home, her son Steve Capps (Peggy Jo), Sierra Vista, AZ; daughter Kate Capps, Overland Park, KS; granddaughter Allison Harper Morrison (Jon) and great-grandson Matthew Harper Morrison, West Warwick, RI; and eight nieces and nephews: Reid Pappas Bigelow, Anthem, AZ; Margaret Pappas Koskie, (Michael), Tiburon, CA; Lee Capps (Nancy), Jefferson City, MO; George Capps (Martha Liz), West Des Moines, IA; Martha Capps Ward (Richard), Eden Prairie, MN; and Mary Alice Capps Dobberstine (Ehrman), Robert Capps (Josephine), and Tom Capps (Marcia), all of Liberty, MO. Memorial service: 2 p.m., Tuesday, July 28, at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Avenue, Mission, KS. Private interment, July 31, Mt. Memorial Cemetery, Liberty, MO. Arrangements: Church-Archer-Pasley Funeral Home, Liberty, MO 816-781-2000. www.churcharcherpasley.com N