Lucy H. Rapperport

Lucy Heiman Rapperport died on July 14th, 2026, at the age of 95, after a recent stroke. She actively enjoyed her life and family in her Lincoln residence until shortly before her death.

Lucy was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1931, to Lilly Levin Heiman and Barney Heiman, where her mother ran the household and her father was a salesman. She went east to attend Radcliffe College, earning a B.A. in Architectural Science in 1952, and a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) in 1955.

Lucy was a modernist architect who trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design during an era greatly influenced by Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus movement. She went on to design several Bauhaus-inspired homes in the greater Boston area, including the house in Lincoln where she raised her family. Lucy’s hand-drawn architectural drawings were beautiful, and she maintained a strong interest in architecture and design throughout her life.

Lucy was community-minded and loved the outdoors. She and her husband, Gene Rapperport, helped create Valley Pond, a place for swimming and boating, as part of a cooperative land development project on the Lincoln/Weston line. It was part of the nearby Brown’s Wood modern home development and was designed to promote community involvement and spirit. She greatly enjoyed bringing her own children to swim there every summer, as well as backpacking in the White Mountains and taking extended camping trips with her husband and children as they explored the Western US, Alaska, and Mexico. The trips west always included visits to St. Louis to visit her extended family, and to the cabins on the Merrimac River in the Ozarks, where she spent summers as a child.

Lucy was also one of the founding members of the Concord Area Jewish Study Group, writing the group’s history in 1985. This original small group of families became what is now known as Congregation Kerem Shalom, “a vibrant, inclusive, progressive Jewish community” of 250 families in Concord. Lucy used her architectural expertise to help select the architect chosen to design the new home for this congregation, the modern Kerem Shalom synagogue that now stands on Elm Street in Concord. Through Kerem Shalom, Lucy worked for many years with a program at the MCI Concord Prison helping men pass their high school equivalency exam. She felt that she had received the privilege of an education, and wanted to offer that opportunity to others.

Lucy continued her artistic exploration through participating in watercolor and drawing classes at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, as well as independently sketching and watercolor painting on her own. After the death of her husband of 67 years, Eugene “Gene” Rapperport, Lucy moved to Lincoln Commons, where she continued to engage in community activities, paint, and develop new, important friendships which she treasured.

Throughout her life, the central joy and focus for Lucy was family. She always took time and effort to create family gatherings, always wanted to hear how each member of the extended family was doing, and was always eager to share a meal or a trip to Valley Pond with family members.

Lucy was predeceased by her husband, “Gene” Rapperport, also from St. Louis, where they attended the same high school and were married in 1950, the summer after their sophomore year at college in Massachusetts, Gene at M.I.T. and Lucy at Radcliffe College

Lucy is survived by her three beloved children, Daniel and Jamie Rapperport, and Rachel Rapperport Munn, and by their spouses Kathryn Porter Rapperport, Elspeth Farmer Rapperport, and Samson Munn. She also leaves eight treasured grandchildren: Anna, Leah, David, Emma, Joshua, and Benjamin Rapperport, and Amalia and Saul Munn, as well as her two great-grandchildren, Caleb and Josiah Rapperport. She is also survived by her cherished cousin, Marilyn Heiman Young, 96, of St. Louis.

Lucy is remembered by her family and friends for her honesty, wisdom, equanimity, quick sense of humor, and her love of nature and design.

A memorial service will be held at The Commons in Lincoln, 1 Harvest Circle, Lincoln, MA, on Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with a light lunch served.  Valet Parking is available (and recommended) at the front entry.  Burial will be after the memorial in the Lincoln Town Cemetery for those who wish to attend.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts, through the Historic New England Fund, https://www.historicnewengland.org/get-involved/donate/ or to the Mass Audubon Society at https://www.massaudubon.org .

We celebrate a life well-lived.