Arthur Robert Holtzapple (Bob), 85, of Bryan passed away April 12, 2018.
He was born on Sept. 20,1932 in Paterson, New Jersey, to Arthur Holtzapple and Martha Aeberli Holtzapple. He grew up in York, PA, a city that gave him a love of the Pennsylvania Dutch culture. He often used Pennsylvania Dutch expressions in his speech because they were so different from standard English. As a youngster, he sometimes worked alongside “Dutchmen” and he tried to carry on conversations with them in their ancient German.
He graduated from William Penn High School in 1950 and then attended Cornell University. He received a degree in Architecture in 1955. While at Cornell, he worked as a pot washer in the kitchen of a girls’ dormitory where he met one of the wait staff, Joan Persson. Their friendship flourished into a 62-year marriage that was blessed with the arrival of four children—Mark, Wendy, Robin and Erik.
A stint in the Air Force followed his graduation from Cornell. He flew C-124 airplanes and served as the Civil Engineer for the Air Force base where he was stationed. He was assigned to many interesting parts of this country and to an airbase in Japan. He loved flying and was in the National Guard for several years.
After leaving the military, he returned to architecture, with his primary interest being the design of hospitals and other medical buildings. He had a variety of interests and hobbies. He was an accomplished artist who enjoyed doing pencil sketches, oil paintings, and architectural drawings. He embraced his German heritage and became a great dancer of a German folk dance known as the Schuhplattler. He also enjoyed playing bridge and listening to Classical music. In his retirement years, he devoted many hours to teaching ESL classes for immigrants.
He is survived by his wife, Joan, as well as their four children and spouses: Mark Holtzapple (Carol Holtzapple) of College Station, TX; Wendy Holtzapple (Larry Olson) of Minneapolis, MN; Robin Jabari (Siros Jabari) of Laguna Niguel, CA; and Erik Holtzapple (Catherine Purcell) of San Diego, CA. He is also survived by seven delightful grandchildren: John, Matthew and Michael Holtzapple, Rose Olson, Sarah and Bijan Jabari, and Maeve Holtzapple.
Bob’s life will be celebrated and honored with a service at 10am Monday, April 16, at Callaway-Jones Funeral Center, 3001 S College Ave. in Bryan.
In lieu of flowers, please consider dontations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at jdrf.org or 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004.
