Clark Rapalee update- Deborah Ventura

Thanks Deborah! Rapp was a good friend of mine. He dropped in on us in Westerville for an hour or so about twenty years ago. I called Gib Lakeman, a football and Mound Park mutual friend and the three of us spent an hour or so talking about our youth. Gib and Clark attended Otterbein during the same time. Gib may have been a couple iof years older than Clark. Gib is also deceased.

I always had the greatest respect and admiration for Clark. His dad and mother gassed up their vehicle at Rase's Service Station on the corner of Hutchins and Sevennteenth just across the northwest corner of the park. They were a handsome and a very nice pair.

Clark played piano in his dad's little band. He sold to service stations for a while and told me then that the oil companies pushed a lot of stuff onto their retailers. He taught at Clay High School and the Vices had him as a teacher there.

Jack Plymale, who played on the Trojans with Gib and your dad (Clark played for a while) also thinks a lot of each of them.

I don't doubt that Clark's terrible war time experiences in Korea affected him. He was the same friend to me at all times.

I will [post this into my blog to remind people once again of a fine Rapalee family from Portsmouth, Ohio








----- Original Message -----
From: deborah ventura
To: skegley@columbus.rr.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 11:50 AM
Subject: Clark Rapalee


Hi Sam, I was googling my boyfriend of 15 years, Clark Rapalee, Jr. and myself just for fun today and found your blog from Dec. 10, 2008 (ironically that was the 19th anniversay of Audrie Rapalee's death). A man named Andrew Waber said that Mr Clark Rapalee was not on speaking terms with any of his children at the time of his death. This is not true. Clark and his son spoke on the phone and exchanged Christmas cards, birthday cards, etc. They were on speaking terms, albeit on an irregular basis. CLark Rapalee Sr was the one who rarely communicated with his children. I know for a fact that his son, Clark and his step-daughter Mary always tried to keep in touch with him. I found what this Andrew said to be untrue and he does not know the real story. Clark Sr's daughter Elizabeth and his younger son, John were not on speaking terms with him. Elizabeth had not been on speaking terms with him since 1980 so it had nothing to do with his marriage to his 3rd wife Jewell. Thanks for letting me set the story straight. I don't want people thinking that his children didn't care, because I know they cared very much. At least Clark Jr and Mary did. They were the only family to come to the funeral besides Jewell's daughter and her husband and myself.
Sincerely,
Deborah Ventura