OBIT: Georgiana (ECKROTH) LAPP, 2004, native of Blair County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sharon Miller Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _________________________________________ 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