Mary Alice (Weber) Lapp

Alice Lapp's service will be livestreamed from College Mennonite Church.  To access the service go to:

https://collegemennonite.org/

and click on "Watch Live"

Mary Alice (Weber) Lapp, 91, of Goshen, formerly of Akron, Pennsylvania and Harrisonburg, Virginia, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2022 after suffering a stroke. Alice was born in Lititz, Pennsylvania on July 29, 1931, the oldest child of B. Franklin and Sarah Margaret (Hostetter) Weber.

Alice is survived by her loving husband of 67 years, John A. Lapp; son, John F. (Sandra Shenk Lapp); daughters Jennifer Lerch (Robert) and Jessica W. Lapp (Phil Hertzler); grandchildren Sophia (David) Lapp Jost, Eva Lapp (Sam Smucker), J. Ethan Lapp, Sarah Lerch (Stefan Kuhns,) Robert T.  Lerch, J. Nicholas Hertzler; one great-grandson, Timothy Lapp Jost; her sisters Sally Horst and Joyce Busch, and brother Samuel Weber. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, B. Michael Weber.

Alice always knew she wanted to be a teacher. She graduated from Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania; she received a BA in English from Eastern Mennonite College after her aunts encouraged her to pursue a teaching degree. She received an MA from James Madison University and taught junior high and high school English in Cleveland, Ohio, Elkton, Virginia, and Norristown, Pennsylvania. She taught college classes at Bethlehem University in Palestine, and in Calcutta, India. Alice also substitute taught while raising her children. She served both as Sunday School and Bible School teacher at Lititz Mennonite Church.

Alice was an impressive hostess and traveling companion to her husband, John, as he served as an administrator at Mennonite Central Committee and Goshen College for many years. Her support and management skills made his work possible. During their 67 years of marriage, they traveled throughout the US and internationally, living for extended periods in Jerusalem, Palestine, and Calcutta, India.

Alice was the author of two books: Christ Is Our Cornerstone: 100 years at Lititz Mennonite Church ; and Woodcrest Retreat: 50 Years of Sharing Christ’s Love 1959-2009 . She also reviewed books and contributed articles to many Mennonite publications.

Always an active volunteer, Alice served on the boards of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Salvation Army, Lancaster Mennonite School, and Mennonite Publishing House. She served as a Red Cross volunteer at Goshen General Hospital and Ephrata Community Hospital for many years and volunteered at the Ephrata ReUzit store.

In addition to her volunteer activities, Alice was a singer, artist, pianist, baker, cook, hostess, gardener, and voracious reader. As an active mother and grandmother, she taught her children and grandchildren to bake (especially pies), encouraged them to garden, supplied them with books and read to them, sang and played piano with them, loved playing games, and shared paintings, pies and cookies, flowers, and gardening advice for many years. Her influence and memories will last forever. She will be missed by many friends and family in the US and all over the world.

Visitation will Friday, October 21, 2022 at College Mennonite Church from 1 to 2:30 p.m.  A Memorial Service in celebration of Alice Lapp’s life will follow at 3 p.m.  Masks are strongly suggested to protect our older and more fragile visitors.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to College Mennonite Church, Mennonite Central Committee, Goshen College, or Eastern Mennonite University.