OBIT: Georgiana (ECKROTH) LAPP, 2004, native of Blair County, PA

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sharon Miller
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_________________________________________ 

GEORGIANA LAPP 

  Georgiana (Eckroth) Lapp, died Tuesday, June 15, in Redlands, CA, of 
complications from her fight against breast cancer. A long-time 
Redlands educator, counselor and administrator, she was a recipient of 
the University of Redlands Town and Gown Award for lifelong achievement 
in education and the Robert K. Kelly Award for significant 
contributions to public education. She was 70.
  Born November 7, 1933 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, Lapp was the second of 
four children of George and Kathryn Eckroth. Active in local church and 
music groups throughout her youth, she helped support herself through 
college as a singer and pianist in local bands and once auditioned with 
Fred Waring\'s singing group \"The Pennsylvanians.\"
  Lapp was graduated in 1955 from Pennsylvania State University with a 
B.A. in sociology, and she completed clinical training at Pilgrim State 
Hospital in New York. She married Thomas Buckwalter in 1956 and 
relocated to Pittsburgh to raise a family and pursue a career as a 
mental health care professional, working for eight years as coordinator 
of patient activities at Dixmont State Hospital. Her passion for music 
and her dedication to social service expressed themselves in public 
theatrical events she organized with Dixmont psychiatric patients, 
including a memorable performance of the musical \"Brigadoon.\" She 
also appeared on local public television in a segment on innovative 
approaches to working with the mentally ill through music and theater.
  In 1967, she moved with her husband and two sons to Redlands, CA, 
where she was hired as a special education teacher by the Redlands 
Unified School District. Over the next several years, she established 
what would become lifelong roots in Redlands. She earned her Master\'s 
Degree in Counseling and an administrative credential from the 
University of Redlands and shifted her career focus to academic 
counseling at Redlands High School. She was also a member of the First 
Presbyterian Church and sang in the church choir.
  In 1975, as a result of her husband\'s transfer to a Lockheed 
facility in Santa Cruz, California, Lapp left Redlands and assumed 
several educational positions in the Santa Cruz area. She was divorced 
from Thomas Buckwalter in 1978. Returning that year to Redlands, she 
established the Redlands Independent Study Education (RISE) Program, 
which provided a route for non-traditional students to continue their 
education under difficult circumstances, often as sole family 
supporters. This program, as well as her tenure as principal of 
Orangewood Continuation School, reflected her lifelong commitment to 
serving people with special needs and challenges. 
  Late in her career she turned her talents to mentoring other teachers 
and administrators, serving as Director of Staff Development for 
Redlands schools and as county trainer for the California School 
Leadership Academy, a program for principals and other school 
administrators. She retired in 1989, but continued to serve the 
Redlands Unified School District for years in several consultant 
capacities.
  In 1978, shortly after her return from Northern California, she met 
Royce Lapp, former Superintendent of Chino Unified School District and 
Baldy View Regional Occupational Program. They married in 1980, and 
over the next 24 years enjoyed a life that combined their mutual 
involvements in education, family, community, and travel. They lived in 
Medford, Oregon from 1992-1999, where she was active in Habitat for 
Humanity, volunteered for The Manor, a retirement center, and attended 
the Medford United Methodist Church. She also served as a board member 
for Samaritan Counseling Center and for the Court Appointed Special 
Advocate (CASA), a program for at-risk children in Oregon. 
  Returning to Redlands in 1999 to be nearer to her family, Lapp became 
active in the First United Methodist Church. She also resumed her 
involvement as a mentor, advisor, organizer and inspiration in local 
community and educational organizations. 
  Other highlights of recent years include the births of two 
grandchildren and performance tours to England, Wales, Australia and 
New Zealand with the Inland Valley Master Chorale.
  Lapp is survived by her husband, Royce Lapp; her two sons, Michael 
Buckwalter of Long Beach, and Mark Buckwalter of Redlands; sisters 
Adair Schildt of Tyrone and Judie Eckroth Black, of Naples, Florida; 
brother George Eckroth Jr., two grandchildren and six step-
grandchildren. 
  A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 26, at the First 
United Methodist Church, Redlands, CA.  

Tyrone Daily Herald, June 28, 2004