Obituary: William “Joe” Joseph Stapp, 1960-2011
Joe Stapp, with daughters Clare (left) and Sierra (right) in San Diego, April 2000 (Photo courtesy Stapp family)
Joe spent his early years surfing and enjoying life in the San Francisco Bay Area with his many family and friends and serving in the U.S. Navy.
He moved to Mammoth Lakes in 1987 to add skiing expertly to his wide repertoire of sports. He met up with several close high school friends here. In 1989 Joe met his future wife, Shana, while driving buses for the Mountain. They moved off to Eureka to continue their journey together and begin their family.
While living in San Diego in 1996, Joe began to dream of Mammoth and raising their daughters here. Once the Stapp family returned to Mammoth, Joe and Shana became active participants in the community and their girls’ lives.
Joe coached and refereed in AYSO soccer for 12 years and served on the AYSO Board for several years as Regional Commissioner and Coach Coordinator. The family had to upgrade their cable subscription to get the soccer channels!
Everything Joe did in life was done with passion. His life is celebrated by his wife, Shana, his daughters: Sierra and Clare, parents Claudia, Bill, Dan and Carlene, brothers Dan and Chuck, sisters Mary Kay, Lisa, Viv, Noelle, Teri, Vicki, Kelli and Sherri, his many nieces and nephews Walter, Joe, Sarah, Jason, Rachel, Katrina, Doug, Skye, Elora, Matt, Nick, Cory, Christopher, Erin, Kendra, Phil, Kyle, Scott, Danny, Alaina, Devin, Amanda, Cooper, Hanna, Giles, Shenoa, Ella and Brendan, Aunts Karen and Bonnie and Uncle Dick, cousins Stacy, Scott, Wendy and Karina, his siblings-in-law Donette, Deanna and Deron, his life-long friends Keith and Paul, and many other friends and family.
Joe took up surfing in Santa Cruz and had a life-long love affair with the ocean. Donations in his memory can be made to the Santa Cruz Chapter of The Surfrider Foundation, which is dedicated to conservation of our oceans, waves and beaches.
The Surfrider Foundation
Santa Cruz Chapter
222 East Cliff Drive, #234
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Request notification of donation be sent to: Shana Stapp & Family, P. O. Box 9108, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546-9108.
From friend, colleague Greg Newbry …
Joe Stapp, Information Technology Director for Mammoth Community Water District, passed away Sunday afternoon. He has struggled for over a year with pancreatic cancer. I met Joe when his wife Shana and I were on the Mammoth Unified School District Board. He was on his way with his family to see “The Lion King” in Vegas when he became ill. He checked into the hospital Friday evening and passed away Sunday at 1:45 p.m. Joe was a remarkable man. His whole life was one compassion and positive energy. He had a strong passion for family, nature and to always do the right thing. The way he smiled so warmly freely opening his heart made you feel like family, like someone special. Simply by being Joe, he made life better for all of us who knew him. Happy and positive to the end.
As Shana said, he’s catching a new wave … he loved surfing.
The Memorial Service will be held on July 10 in Mammoth Lakes. More information as available may be found on Joe Stapp’s Facebook page.
