Fenton History Center lost a valued and respected volunteer on July 19, 2024. Brian Rapp was born November 7, 1955, in Warren, Pennsylvania, a son of Galen and Shirley Swanson Rapp.
After graduating from Jamestown High School in 1974, he went on to study engineering at Jamestown Community College and Rochester Institute of Technology. He later earned a master’s degree from California State University at Long Beach. Brian spent his entire career with McDonald Douglas / Boeing / United Launch Alliance (ULA), working in both Huntington Beach, CA and Denver, CO. Brian worked in the Delta Rocket program for most of his career and was lead on the wind tunnel testing of the giant Delta 2 launch vehicle at the wind tunnel near Modane, France.
Many of you may remember Brian gliding into the parking lot of the Hall House on his bike. What you may not know is that he was an avid bicyclist and met his wife, Claire, at the Orange County Wheelmen Club. Brian rode in many races and events including four entries in the prestigious Paris-Brest-Paris brevet, which is a 750-mile bike event in France.
Brian volunteered at the Fenton History Center for many years. At the time of his death, he had been working on an extensive map project with Norman Carlson. This was only one of many projects that he worked on over the years. He also spent time at the Hall House working on his family history as he was a passionate amateur genealogist. One of his family stories was published in the SAG (Swedish American Genealogy magazine.
Brian was all things Swedish. He could be seen at every Scandinavian Festival dancing with the local Thule Lodge Swedish Folk Dance Team. He was a member of the Swedish Genealogy Society of Colorado and attended the annual Workshops of the Swedish American Genealogical Society, held each fall in Salt Lake City.
Brian is survived by his wife Claire (Hanley) whom he married in 1993; two stepchildren Sarah (David) Kreidler of Montclair, NJ and Nick (Allegra Abramo) Zajchowski of Seattle, WA; two grandchildren, Finn and Lilly Kreidler, and his brother Charles “Chip” Rapp of Jamestown.
Memorials may be made to Fenton History Center, 67 Washington Street, Jamestown, NY 14701.
Donations in Memory of Brian J. Rapp: Kenneth & Sheila Bartanen, Wanda Frederick, Marcus Goodrich, Leikarringen of Leif Erikson Lodge No. 1, Ronald Peterson, Marilyn Rapp, Cheryl Ritch, Thule Lodge #127, Thule Lodge Swedish Adult Folk Dancers, Janet Wahlberg, Warren County Genealogical Society
