Richard (J.) Rapaport

Freelance journalist Richard J. Rapaport, 64, died in Marin County, California on October 18, 2016. He suffered from Lewy body dementia, myasthenia gravis and emphysema. A native of West Hartford, Connecticut, he resided in San Francisco and Mill Valley, California for more than 40 years.
An urbane and witty man who befriended politicians, literary figures and media reporters, Rapaport wrote on subjects as varied as technology, business, international relations, politics and the war in Bosnia. His work appeared in a variety of publications, among them, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Hartford Courant, Forbes ASAP, San Francisco Magazine, Wired, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and Edutopia. In addition, he did public relations for technology start-ups, political campaign research, and speechwriting for business and political figures. He also wrote books on city planning and architecture, the most recent of which, California Moderne and the Mid-Century Dream, was published by Rizzoli in 2014.
Although his journalism took him to Europe, Asia and the Middle East, where he interviewed business and political leaders, he was most comfortable in the restaurants and watering holes of San Francisco and especially in its Italian quarter, North Beach.
Rapaport graduated from the Loomis School (now Loomis Chaffee) in Windsor, CT and from Hobart College in Geneva, NY. He is survived by his mother, Sylvia Rapaport, his aunt Marilyn Pellet, both of West Hartford, his sister, Emily Rapaport of San Francisco, CA, and partner Kathryn Thyret of Mill Valley, CA. Richard was a loving and generous friend to many.
A funeral is scheduled for Sunday, October 23, 2016 at 12 p.m. at the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06105. A memorial service in San Francisco is being planned. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco.

Service Date: 01/01/1970