Chief Willard C. Clapper - Aspen, CO, USA - Firefighter Memorials on Waymarking.com

The plaque reads:

WILLARD C. CLAPPER PARK
In Honor Of
Willard C. Clapper
for 25 years of dedication to
The Aspen Volunteer Fire Department,
serving 14 years a Chief,
presented by
THE ASPEN FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
and the
CITY OF ASPEN
July 4, 1984

The bell reads:
Presented to the Aspen Fire Department
by
Henry B. Gillespie
1886.

"Willard Clapper, of Aspen, passes away
Rick Carroll
October 19, 2014

Willard Clapper was sleeping Wednesday morning when his wife woke him up. A group of visitors, nine in all, were at the door of the Clapper couple's Emma home. They were there not just to pay a visit to their ailing friend and mentor but to honor him, as well.

"I said, 'Honey, you need to wake up,' and he sat up anxiously," said his wife, Anne Austin-Clapper. She told him to put on his pin recognizing his service with the Aspen Valley Fire Department.

"He said, 'Why am I wearing this?'" Austin-Clapper recalled.

He'd find out soon enough, when the firefighters entered the house.

"He had a huge smile on his face," she said. "They saluted him and called him chief."

It was a surprise retirement party for Clapper — who had served as chief and every other position at the department except chaplain — and the group presented him with one of the last silver belt buckles made by silversmith Jim Hayes, who died in 2012. The buckle was emblazoned with the traditional aspen leaf on its front, and it also included a few personal touches. Clapper's initials were on the front, and on the buckle's back were engraved words of thanks for his "22" years of service with the Fire Department. Never mind that Clapper served 35 years — Hayes made the belt ahead of its time. Clapper's wife said they'll simply scratch out the "22" — he also was a teacher, and that's what teachers are known to do —and replace it with "35."

Late Thursday night, Clapper died at his home after a battle with lymphoma, with his wife and daughter Ashley Austin by his side. He was 63.

"Willard went downhill so fast, and it was really, really so special to him to have this special moment," Austin-Clapper said. "He went so fast."

Physical address: 420 E Hopkins Ave. Aspen, CO USA Memorial Website: Not listed

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