William Poppe

William Lawrence (Larry) Poppe
Land Surveyor / Civil Engineer
July 29, 1932 – October 21, 2020 (Age 88)

Psalm 116:15   Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

A long time resident of Rose Hill in Alexandria, VA, passed away peacefully after a long and courageous battle with a degenerative neurological disorder.

He died in grace just as he lived in life. Preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Mary Louise Rader Poppe, in 2006.  Surviving are his brothers: Charles Poppe of Durham, NC; Bill Poppe of Aurora, IL, his five children: Doug Poppe of Fairfax, VA; James Poppe and wife Connie of Bowie, MD; Donna Poppe Wagner and husband Kenny of Syracuse, NY; Mark Poppe and wife Judy of Aberdeen, MD; Carol Poppe of Alexandria, VA; his five grandchildren: Jessica Poppe Heise and husband David of Parkville, MD; Christopher Poppe of Falling Waters, WV; Rachel Poppe Montreal and husband Dave of Cicero, NY; Briannan Wagner Schleining and husband John of Gresham, OR and Katie Poppe; three step grandchildren:  Dorothy; KJ; Jeff,  three great grandchildren: Evelyn; Eleanor; and Levi: nine step grand-children and many dear close friends.

Born and raised in Washington D.C. Larry was a 1950 graduate of McKinley Tech High School, then continued his education at IIT in Chicago, IL studying mathematics and engineering.  He married his sweetheart, Mary, and began their loving and joyous family.  Larry worked hard at several jobs to provide his children a blessed childhood with the benefit of a stay at home mother and a very involved father. He loved his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

His many interests included his work with business partner John at Lanier Poppe Engineering, working for Bill Meekins, many years at NUS and continued friendships with a large group of fellow co-workers, meeting for many years at the Branded 72 restaurant in Rockville, MD. He was a fan of streetcars, railroad trains, pinball machines, construction and road design, driving, gardening, bowling, computers and was an avid television viewer. He enjoyed being a member of the Franconia Museum, and the Rose Hill Civic Association.

The family home of 55 years on Leewood Dr. was devastatingly damaged by storm flood waters in July of 2006, and was declared uninhabitable.  He chose to take up residence at Park Place of Van Dorn while he designed and rebuilt the house leaving only the original red brick walls, adding a second floor.  He got such a kick out of watching and overseeing every detail of the construction almost every day, while photographing and documenting the process.  He moved into the newly built home for a few years before selling it in 2014, then returned to Park Place at Van Dorn where he lived comfortably till his death, as was his wish.

The Poppe children have requested in lieu of flowers, donations in Larry's name be made to Compassus Hospice, 14900 Conference Center Dr., Suite 170, Chantilly, VA  20151, (703)-782-5421.

The Franconia Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 30600, Alexandria, Virginia 22310 (703)-971-5858
http://franconiavfd.org/donations