Paul H Lapham Sr.

July 14, 1930 - February 22, 2017

Sergeant Major Paul H. Lapham, Sr., U.S. Army (Ret.), 86, died Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Port Charlotte, FL. He was the husband of Diana G. (Nickerson) Lapham for 68 years. A Cape Cod native, Paul was born on July 14, 1930 in Osterville, MA, the last child of the late Frank T. and Beatrice E. (Moody) Lapham. He was predeceased by sisters Hazel Aittaniemi and Frances Hinckley, and brothers George and Dana. He was an air defense artilleryman for over 23 years: enlisted in the Massachusetts Army National Guard (1948), mobilized to federal status during the Korea War (1951), and remained on active duty until his honorable discharge (1971). Beyond many assignments in the continental U.S., he served overseas at Fukuoka, Japan; Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands; and Taipei, Taiwan (twice). His military awards are the Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal (6th Award), National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Taiwan), and Korea Service Medal. After Army retirement, Paul and Diana rebuilt the Nickerson homestead at Chatham, MA, and afterwards they began journeys to Florida as snowbirds. They moved permanently to Florida in 1980; first, living at Bonita Springs and later settling at Port Charlotte. Surviving in addition to his wife are his sister Janice (Lapham) Nickerson and four children: Paul Jr. and Linda of Chatham, MA; Glenn (Lapham) Wilkinson and Ben of Port Charlotte, FL; John and Stephanie of Gettysburg, PA; and Mary (Lapham) Jepsen and Chris of Chatham, MA. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren who knew him as “Bumpa”: Patti (Herald) Hekking, Jeff and daughter Hanna of Port Charlotte, FL; Jennifer (Lapham) McClung, Shawn and daughters Kaitlyn, Kelsey, and Kylie of Frederick, MD; Jessica Lapham of Chatham, MA, and sons Bradley and Brandon Perkins of Largo, FL; Amanda (Jepsen) Vargas, Marlon and daughter Chloe of Simpsonville, SC; Julie (Lapham) Swafford and Jonathan, son Jackson and daughters Jette and Josie of Walkersville, MD; Stephanie Jepsen of Chatham, MA; JoAnn Lapham, daughter Alyssa and son Aidyn Tomalewski of Thurmont, MD; Kaitlin Lapham and husband Reese Hayes of Concord, NC; and Nicholas Lapham of South Boston, MA. Paul was an avid wood carver until his death. He began carving Boy Scout neckerchief slides for his two sons in the 1960s as a Boy Scout leader; he became prolific at carving all types of realistic birds, animals and caricatures. Another passion was HO scale model railroading—he spent countless hours building a full-blown, panoramic model railroad layout for a multitude of railroad engines and cars to run throughout a variety of rural scenes. Paul was proud of his military service as exemplified by his lifetime memberships to several Army and veterans’ associations, including aiding the disabled. Most importantly, Paul loved being with his large family, Army acquaintances and many friends. He always was ready to tell a good story and share his repertoire of jokes. Inurnment is Tuesday, March 7th, 12:30 p.m., at the Sarasota National VA Cemetery, Sarasota, FL. The family plans a memorial gathering at a later date on Cape Cod for family and friends in that area. In lieu of flowers, send donations in Paul’s name to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Association, Chap #82, 1232 Market Circle, Unit 2B, Port Charlotte, FL 33953.