Remembering Larry Rappaport (1928-2022)

Our founder

We are only here today thanks to the vision and dedication of our founder, Larry Rappaport z”l. Larry was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx and Brooklyn. He and his lovely wife Norma have known each other since they met in baby carriages in a kosher butcher shop and have been married for 63 years come November 21, 2016. They have three adult children, Meryl, Debra, and Craig, and five wonderful grandchildren, Joel, David, Tamara, Henry, and Lindsey.

After serving in the US Army in Korea and completing his Ph.D at Michigan State University, Larry and his family came to Davis in 1956 when he accepted a position as a faculty member in the department of vegetable crops at UC Davis. He remained in his position until retirement in 1992 as chair of the plant science department. Larry served on numerous committees and was among the first scientists in the United States to do research in the area of plant hormones, concentrating on Gibberelins.

Along with his professional accomplishments, Larry was equally proud of his many contributions to the Jewish community in Davis. He and Norma were among the founding members, and also a past president, of the Jewish Fellowship of Davis, which became Congregation Beit Haverim. He also was one of the founders of the Davis Human Relations Council that was founded to improve race relations in the Davis area. However, Larry wanted to share the joy of belonging to a Jewish community with the students at UC Davis, which inspired him to found our branch of Hillel. In its earliest days, Hillel consisted of bagel brunches on Sunday in the living room of his family’s home in Davis. Now, that vision has grown into one of the most vibrant centers for Jewish life in the Hillel movement. After coping with dementia, Larry passed away at age 94 on October 5, 2022.

Larry, we’re going to miss you. But, we see your legacy every time we meet a student for a coffee date, serve them dinner at Shabbat, or teach them the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. May his memory be a blessing.