Irving Rapaport

We announce the passing of our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Irving (Rusty) Rapaport who passed away peacefully, at home, on Monday, December 19, 2022 at 97 years old. Our family is feeling profound gratitude for all the time we shared.
Rusty filled every room he entered, and he filled our hearts. He was steadfast in his dedication to his family to the last days of his life. He had a keen intellect and a remarkable memory. He was kind, honest and interested in and respectful of everyone he met. Charismatic and funny, he inspired many sincere and enduring friendships. Rusty was an enchanting storyteller. His easy-going nature perhaps can be best epitomized by his signature sign-off, "Tap 'er light," which alludes to the touch one must use when setting a dynamite charge into the wall of a mine so as not to set off an explosion prematurely.
Rusty led a big life. He was born in New York City on Thursday, May 21, 1925 into a Jewish family. His mother was from New York, his father from Austria, and he had an older sister. They lived on the upper West Side in a pretty rough immigrant neighborhood. He spent his childhood playing in the streets with the Irish kids in the neighborhood.
He graduated from high school at 15 and left immediately on a trek alone on his bicycle up into Canada, making his way doing farm labor. He would not take charity. If a farmer didn't have work for him, he would keep moving, even if he was hungry. This time of deprivation and uncertainty, mixed with adventure and self-reliance, remained in his consciousness always.

He began to put himself through college as a mining engineer, but his education was interrupted by the second World War. He lied about his age and enlisted in the paratroops. He became a corporal and his platoons' French interpreter, leading the troops into French villages and meeting with town dignitaries for coordination. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and later took part in the liberation of one of the death camps.

After the war, he finished his undergraduate education through the GI Bill at the University of Minnesota. He worked in the mines in Leadville, Colorado and Marysvale, Utah and in South Dakota's Sunshine mine in the late 1940's. Leadville, in particular, had not changed much since the 1860's. It was rough, wild and cold.

The Atomic Energy Commission hired him for his expertise in uranium exploration and soon he became the person in charge of the AEC in the Grants region. Together with his advisor from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Gruner, he wrote pivotal papers on the process of uranium formation through geological time. He started his own very successful company, 4 Corners Exploration Company, and became renowned in his field. He won awards for the responsible way he managed his company.
He met our mother in the Grants region in the early 1950's. She owned the Bluewater Trading Post at the time. They worked together to start the company, at first living in a small trailer next to the first mine with their first child. Our dad covered the bills by playing poker in the beginning. Our parents had been married for 59 years when our mother died in 2011.
In the 1970's uranium stockpiles were more than adequate, mining became less necessary and he retired early. He stayed busy and loved those years. Travel was something both our parents enjoyed. They visited many places, but they loved exploring France most of all, delighting in French culture and language. Rusty was a skilled tennis player into his early 90's. He was a bridge master until the pandemic, winning many tournaments. He shared French novels and conversation with a group of friends for many years.

He is survived by 4 children: Janna, Lisa, Laurel, and Daniel Eric; 3 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren.

There will be a Memorial Service in the middle of January. Friends are welcome to contact us on his home phone for details.

We will miss him very much.

FRENCH - University
1111 University Blvd. NE