Sunday, February 22, 2009
William Kaplan, 84, who was a partner in a real estate development company for 30 years, died Feb. 16 of pneumonia
at his Chevy Chase home.
Mr. Kaplan was a Washington native and was a spelling bee champion in his youth. He was valedictorian of McKinley
Tech High School's class of 1942.
After a year at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., he joined the Army Air Forces and served as a navigator
during World War II.
On July 28, 1944, the navigation equipment on Mr. Kaplan's B-17 bomber failed, and his aircraft collided in mid-air over
Germany with another B-17. Mr. Kaplan parachuted to safety as one of two survivors of the crash.
He was captured and held in a German prisoner-of-war camp for 10 months, until the war ended in Europe in 1945. He
was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.
After the war, Mr. Kaplan graduated from Cornell University with high honors in civil engineering. He returned to
Washington, where he became a construction supervisor with the Charles E. Smith Co.
In 1954, Mr. Kaplan formed a residential construction company, Stearman and Kaplan, with his brother-in-law, David
Stearman. Over the next 30 years, the company built about 2,000 houses, apartments and townhouses throughout the
Washington region.
Mr. Kaplan retired in 1984 and concentrated on philanthropic activities, particularly for Jewish causes. He was real
estate chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and also chaired the Washington committee for State of Israel Bonds. He
participated in the planning of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and served as a docent after it was built.
Mr. Kaplan lived in Bethesda before moving to Chevy Chase about 10 years ago. He also had a home in Boca Raton,
Fla. He was a member of B'nai Israel Congregation in Rockville.
He enjoyed golf, tennis and travel.
His wife, Mildred Oshinsky Kaplan, died in December.
Survivors include three children, Robin Kaplan of Baltimore, Linda Kaplan of Chicago and Jeffrey Kaplan of
Kensington; a sister, Jean Sulkes of West Bloomfield, Mich.; a brother, Julius Kaplan of Washington; and five
grandchildren.