Obituary

The best way to honour a man is to celebrate what he has given to the world, when recounting the gifts that Lawrence Tapp, former President of Swimming Canada, gave in his life there is much to celebrate. In the business world he had a reputation as an innovative leader, skilled in initiating change and improving performance.

Tapp, whose son Jay and grandson Jake were/are competitive swimmers, died on Monday while travelling in Belize with his wife. He was 73. 

Born on Oct. 6, 1937 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Tapp most recently lived in Langley, B.C. During his lengthy career he earned that reputation through helping build many successful companies: he was President and CEO of Lawson Mardon Group, held Senior Executive positions with Hallmark Cards and served as a director for the following companies, Talisman Energy Inc, Softchoice Corp, Rogers Telecom Holdings Inc, Mainstreet Equity Corp, Tapp Technologies, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Automation Tooling Systems, Numac, The Mark Anthony Group, CCL Industries, Energy Inc, Wescast Industries Inc, Ukraine Enterprise Corp and International Verifact Inc.

In 1995 Tapp took his skills and abilities to the academic world when he was named the Dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Through this position he affected many students lives and careers not only by sharing his knowledge, but also through his efforts in creating ever-increasing opportunities for those students by transforming the institution into a world leader in business education.

Tapp also shared his leadership skills with the swimming community, which included serving as the President of Swimming Canada in 1974. In recognition of those contributions he has been inducted into both the Canadian Aquatic Hall of Fame and the Ontario Swimming Hall of Fame.

Through his accomplishments in his career in both business and academia Tapp left an astounding legacy that should be celebrated on its merit alone, but that was only a small part of the footprint he left on the world.

Through my involvement in swimming I had the opportunity to cross paths with Tapp on several occasions, he was always generous with his time and was more than happy discuss his ideas and philosophies on business, swimming and life.

In those meetings one thing was abundantly clear; the greatest passion in his life was not business or academia, it was his family. When he was with his family it was clear how much he loved and cared about them.

It was often hard to grab Tapp’s attention at different events, such as NCAA Championships, because he was so immersed in the pride he had in his grandsons and what they have been able to accomplish.

Lawrence Tapp passed away from a sudden heart attack on Tuesday, February 1, while travelling with his wife Joanne. His passing is a great loss and the swimming community’s thoughts are with his family during this time.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson