Obituary of Earle Taylor Holsapple

Earle T. Holsapple, Jr. ("Apple") passed away peacefully in the company of his three children on May 4, 2012 at the House of the Good Shepherd in Hackettstown. He was 95. His wife of 68 years, Jane Reade Holsapple predeceased him in 2009. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012 at the St. Luke's Episcopal Church, in Gladstone, NJ, followed by a reception. Mr. Holsapple was born in Troy, NY on Dec. 4, 1916 to Earle T. Holsapple Sr. and Alice Haven residing first in Scarsdale then the farm in Dover Plains, NY. He lived at Apple Lake on Homestead Road in the Oldwick section of Tewksbury Township, NJ for 52 years before moving to Hackettstown 8 years ago. Earle graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University in 1939 following St. Paul's School, Concord, NH in 1935. He spent a short time with WR Grace & Co from Sept. 1939 to Dec. 1940 before joining what was to become the last cavalry unit of any US war, the US Army-101stCavalry Regiment. He began as an enlisted man from Jan 1941 until Aug 1942. He was then commissioned as 2nd Lt in December 1942 and served in North Africa and Italy. He was captured by the Germans and witnessed the final months of WWII as a POW, with his release on May 5, 1945. After the war he worked for Welsh Farms Dairy, Inc from 1946 to 1996. He held positions from Vice President of Sales, Executive VP, ultimately to President and Chairman of the Board. He held leadership positions on the Boards of the International Ice Cream Association, New Jersey Milk Industry Foundation, as well as ownership of controlling interest in Windsor Manufacturing Co, NJ and Saratoga Vichy Water, Inc, NY. He also served on the Board of the House of the Good Shepherd for more than thirty years and as its Treasurer for more than 15 years. In addition, he served on the Board of Centenary College for 17 years and as Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Development Committee for approximately 10 years. He was also active with the American Diabetes Assoc., first serving as Chairman of the Hunterdon County Chapter and then spending 15 years on the NJ State Board, serving as Chairman in 1988 and 1989, and as the NJ representative on the National Board from 1989 to 1993. Apple's many contributions to his community were cited in the numerous honors he received throughout his life. Among these included an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, 1999 from Centenary College, Person of Distinction, 2010 from the House of the Good Shepherd, NJ Person of the Year from the National American Diabetes Assoc., as well as numerous citations recognizing his leadership in the State and National dairy industry. He is survived by two sons; Earle H. Holsapple, III of MI, his wife Linda and two children, John and Elizabeth; and Peter H. Holsapple, of CO, his wife Sharon, and sons Aaron and David, and one daughter Holly McLendon of PA, her husband Gregory and children, Kevin and Christine and two great-grandsons, Cade and Jackson McLendon. A brother, Penn Haven Holsapple, of MT, predeceased him in 2008. For those desiring, donations may be made in Apple's memory to the House of the Good Shepherd (hotgs.org) or Centenary College (Centenarycollege.edu) or to one's favorite charity. Arrangements are by the Bailey Funeral Home of Peapack, NJ. www.baileyfuneralhomes.com