Lucien Cyril Kapp, artist and lifelong resident of Decatur and president of Kapp, Inc., passed away April 30, 2024, in his home.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church, 407 E. Eldorado, at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. A prelude concert of hymns and anthems will be given 30 minutes prior to the Mass, which will be offered by Father Chris Comerford and Father Don Wolford. Cremation rites have been chosen. The family welcomes all who knew Lucien to stop by his home (5 Millikin Place) the night before, May 28, 2024, from 5:00 p.m.
Lucien was born in Decatur on June 25, 1933, the only child of Horace J. and Mildred (Beggs) Kapp. He married Brigitta Ursula Schallhammer, daughter of Dr. Alois and Theodora Schallhammer, in the Wahlfahrtskirche of Maria Lankowitz, Austria, on October 20, 1968. They were blessed with 55 years of loving union, which brought forth a son, a daughter, and eventually six grandchildren.
He attended Mary W. French and Woodrow Wilson, where he received the American Legion School Award. Lucien graduated with the Decatur High School Class of '51 as president of the student council. He chaired the council effort that brought the first A.F.S. foreign exchange student to Decatur from Naples, Italy, in 1950. That student, Dr. Guido Guidotti, became Chairman of Microbiology at Harvard and a world-acclaimed research scientist and educator. Lucien achieved Eagle Scout rank before his thirteenth birthday. He camped across much of western Europe in the summers of 1948 and 1949 with Troop 3 under the command of Captain Albert Webber Borchers and earned the best camper medal.
He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in advertising design from the University of Illinois in 1955, followed by Navy duty during 1956-57 on board the U.S.S. Castor AKS 1 ported in Yokosuka, Japan. His ship had survived the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and during his tour sustained a nighttime collision with the aircraft carrier Lexington, rode out two typhoons, and rescued survivors of the S.S. Lepus, which sank north of Luzon, Philippines.
In 1959, he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and graphics from the University of Illinois. His last graduate year, he studied with Lawrence Calcagno, visiting artist at the university, and in 1960 he joined the faculty of Millikin University's Department of Art, giving instructions in painting and elementary design. He belonged to Beta Theta Pi fraternity, with his name added to its Wooglin plaque.
The past four decades, Lucien gave much time to historic preservation causes and created an official logo for H.A.S.C. (Historical and Architectural Commission of Decatur). Logos were also designed for the Symphony Orchestra Guild and for the Decatur Choral Society (Opus 24), of which he was an early member and sang throughout its first decade. Lucien was a charter member of the Symphony Orchestra Guild. Rescue and restoration efforts include Decatur High School, Trinity C.M.E. Church, Powers-Jarvis mansion, James Millikin Homestead, Millikin Place, St. Patrick Church, the family home at #5 Millikin Place, and the Adolph Mueller House at #4. At St. Patrick, he was deeply involved with its major restoration of 2002 and sang in the choir for almost 50 years. He previously was a deacon of First Presbyterian Church in Decatur, sang in its choir for 17 years, and served on its sanctuary restoration committee in 1964. In 1974, he nominated the James Millikin Homestead for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, Decatur's first site so honored. He served the Homestead on its board as co-restoration chairperson. He was a founding member of H.A.S.C. (City of Decatur Historical and Architectural Sites Commission), serving 12 years, and was the first recipient of the Arthur Ploeger Award. He was a board member of the Illinois Association of Historic Preservation Commissions and was active in the West North Street Foundation.
During the Millikin years, Lucien worked from a studio above the Varsity Theater on West Wood. Thereafter, he painted from his home studio on Millikin Place. In the 1950s and 1960s he exhibited work in the annual exhibitions of Central Illinois artists, receiving two first prizes in watercolor and one in oil painting. Three one-man shows were held in the Decatur Public Library, with single shows at the Art Center, Millikin University, and the Illini Union Gallery. From 1970 to 1973, he was represented by Oliva Associates, LTD, in New York, as gallery agent. Together with the Decatur sculptor Tibor Baron, he designed, and Tibor fabricated, a series of light fixtures in brass and stained glass based upon Prairie School motifs. His work has been featured in numerous other exhibitions and competitions, in Decatur Magazine, as well as in the book "Prize Winning Oil Paintings," in 1960. Recently his work was the subject of the book, "Der Maler Lucien C Kapp – Zwischen Mur und Mississippi." His work can also be found in several private and family collections in America and in Austria.
Lucien was preceded in death by his parents; stepmother, Frances (Lake) Kapp; and three first cousins. He is survived by his wife, Brigitta - lovely muse to our span of grace and light; daughter, Sabrina and son-in-law Robert Hund; son, Florian and daughter-in-law Cynthia; six grandchildren: Sheldon, Sabryn, Loren, and Grayson Kapp, and Oliver and Lillian Hund; second cousin, Ned Long; and his extended Austrian family: Eva and Heinz Petanjek, Barbara and Peter Aulinger, and their families.
In 2016, Lucien wrote this statement for a retrospective exhibit: "At 82 alive to creation's call for clarity and magic. Bemused, humbled in a swirl of lyrical and abstract means. I rejoice in any and all work that brings communion with a greater will."
Memorials may be directed to Ss. James and Patrick Parish, James Millikin Homestead, or donor's choice.
Published by Decatur Herald & Review on May 11, 2024.