After a life of faithful service to his country, Church and fellowmen, Heber Blaine Kapp, 91, the husband of Ardeth Kapp — ninth Young Women general president of the Church — died May 31, 2017, in Bountiful, Utah.
Brother and Sister Kapp served in many capacities. She supported him as he served as a high councilor, bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president and regional representative, and he sustained her as she served first as a counselor and then as president in the Young Women general presidency.
When first called as the Young Women general president in 1984, Sister Kapp expressed her gratitude for a companion “who is committed to encouraging my total dedication” (“Ardeth Greene Kapp: Young Women General President,” Ensign, May 1984).
Although the couple was unable to have children — which Sister Kapp called her “greatest challenge” (Church News, May 13, 1984, p. 14) — their profile in the Ensign after Sister Kapp’s call to the presidency noted they were both dedicated to living the words of President David O. McKay, who said, “the noblest aim in life is to strive to make other lives better and happier.”
Later they served together as he presided over the Canada Vancouver Mission from 1992 to 1995 and then as the president and matron of the Cardston Alberta Temple from 2000 to 2003 — the temple they had been married in 50 years prior.
Brother Kapp, 91, was born Jan. 13, 1926, in Ogden, Utah, to Harm and Pietkerke Kapp. At age 18 he joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as a signalman in the South Pacific throughout World War II. After the war, he served a mission to the Western Canadian Mission from 1947 to 1949, where he met Ardeth Greene, whom he described in his journal as “cute and fun, but kind of young.”
The two became friends following his mission when she moved to Provo, Utah, to attend school. They were married on June 28, 1950.
He obtained degrees from Weber State College, the University of Utah and did graduate studies at Utah State University. He began his career as a schoolteacher and later worked in real estate and as a building contractor. His obituary noted he will be remembered as a “builder of people” in addition to “a builder of buildings.”
Funeral services are planned for 11 a.m., Monday, June 12, in the Bountiful Canyon Peak Ward meetinghouse, 1190 East Bountiful Hills Drive, Bountiful, Utah.
