Born: September 23, 1934, in Saranac Lake
Died: November 24, 2022
John Frederick LaPan, 88, died peacefully on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 24, 2022, at Copley Manor in Morristown, Vermont.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, December 20, 2022
John Frederick LaPan
He was the son of James H. LaPan and Mildred J. LaPan and brother to Mary T. LaPan, all of whom predeceased him.
John was born Sept. 23, 1934, in Saranac Lake, where he spent his adolescent years. After high school, John attended and graduated from Clarkson University in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
John not only excelled academically, but he was also extremely active on campus as a member of multiple fraternities and organizations with various leadership positions, a class officer, and varsity basketball player.
After graduation, his degree would lead him to several jobs in the engineering world, including work at Kodak in Massachusetts and DuPont in, as John would say, “West, by god, Virginia.” Eventually, however, he settled in Vermont where he spent most of his later years in Lamoille County.
John was an avid skier during his younger days and would often reminisce of those times. In the 1960s, he and a group of ski buddies from Massachusetts would rent a home during the winters notoriously known as “The Ski Lag” on Cape Cod Road in Stowe, Vermont. John had many fond stories of his time spent there and the relationships he made over the years. He also had some more mischievous stories that are probably not appropriate for this publication but always brought him a good chuckle. He also had a love for tennis and belonged to a senior tennis club in the early 2000s.
John was a devout Catholic during his life and held true to the church’s principles and teachings. Most notably, he believed in the virtues of humility and charity. If you knew John, it wasn’t uncommon to see him in trousers with holes or wearing a jacket with a broken zipper. However, when offering to order him something new or to take him shopping, he would politely decline, as he truly felt that he had enough “stuff.” Despite John’s humble living, however, he never hesitated to use his resources to help others and was a regular donor to several philanthropic causes he held close to his heart, including multiple Catholic charities, Lamoille County Meals on Wheels, Wounded Warrior Project and American Cancer Society.
A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on Mountain Road in Stowe, Vermont. Following the Mass, John asked that his friends and family hold a reception with food and drink “on him,” which will be held after in the atrium at Stoweflake Resort also located in Stowe. We invite anyone and everyone who knew John to join in celebrating his life, kindness, and generosity.
