Robert Joseph Papp Was Marine Veteran, Attorney

Robert Joseph Papp of Chesapeake, Va., died Sept. 26. He was 73 years old.

A native of Norwich, Conn., he was the son of the late Zoltan and Doris Waters Papp. From 1950 to 1957 he served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict. He joined the Connecticut State Police in 1957, was promoted to detective in 1961 and later became an inspector for the New London state attorney's office. In 1973 he was commissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and commanded the Captain of the Port of New York reserve unit, retiring as a commander in 1990.

He was also past commander of the Power Squadron, past president of the Lions Club in Franklin, Conn., and a board member of the Franklin planning and zoning board, the Connecticut State Police Alumni Association, the Reserve Officers Association and the Military Officers Association of America.

In 1978 he passed the Connecticut State Bar and became an attorney with the firm Rakosky, Smith, Miller and Papp. In 1994 he and his loving wife moved to Martha's Vineyard, where he served as a trustee at the West Tisbury Congregational Church. Then in 2001 they settled in Chesapeake, Va., where he was a member of the Great Bridge United Methodist Church.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis A. Papp; daughter Carol Maher and her husband, George, of Salem, Conn.; two sons, R.J. Papp Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Cleveland, Ohio, and R. Andersen (Andy) Papp and his wife, Tracy, of Chesapeake, Va.; eight granddaughters, Lauren Maher-Dycus and her husband, Chesley, of Sacramento, Calif., Ashley Maher of Salem, Conn., Nicolene Papp of Delton, Fla., Brianna and Megan Papp of Niantic, Conn., Lindsay Papp of Charlottesville, Va., and Caitlin and Jillian Papp of Cleveland, Ohio; and two grandsons, Hunter and Taylor Papp of Chesapeake, Va. He was preceded in death by his son, Brian D. Papp.

A memorial service will be held Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Chapel in New London, Conn. Interment will be private at Abel's Hill Cemetery in Chilmark.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Cancer Care Foundation of Tidewater, 6160 Kempsville Circle, Suite 325A, Norfolk, VA 23502.

Arrangements are being cared for by Graham Funeral Home in Chesapeake, Va. Please share a memory with the family at www.grahamfuneralhome.com.