William J. (Bill) Kaplan

William J. (Bill) Kaplan, died October 15, 2010 at the age of 84. He lived in Estero, Fla. and Creve Coeur; formerly of Houston, Texas. Son of the late Nathan and the late Rose Rosenberg Kaplan; widower of Elaine Nathan Kaplan; father of Barbara Kaplan of Houston, Judith Kaplan (Mark Edster) of St. Louis; brother of Edward Kaplan (Marilyn) of Hollywood, Fla.; step-father of Robin (Jerry) Erlich of Clayton, Kathryn Smith of Kansas City, Kan., E. Gary Nathan (Nancy Klaber) of Minneapolis, Minn. and Andrew Nathan of Exeter, N.H.; and 11 step-grandchildren. Born and raised in Fall River, Mass., he joined the Navy in 1948 and served aboard the USS Valentine. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in business administration (Class of 1947) and attended Harvard Business School under the auspices of the Navy. In 1949, he moved to Houston, where he started working for Foley’s (at that time a division of Federated Department Stores). He worked his way up to Vice President, General Merchandise Manager of Men’s and Children’s and was known for acquiring designer lines such as Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent for Men. He was active in the Boy Scouts, the Diabetes Association, and the University of Texas at Austin, McCombs Graduate School of Business, where he served as Chairman of the Foundation Advisory Council and Endowment Fund. After 30 years at Foley’s, he joined the Famous-Barr division of May Department Stores in St. Louis, where he worked until 1980. He was known for his cooking, his ability to tell a great story, his love of art and culture, crossword puzzles and golf, boats and books, and not necessarily in that order. Contributions to the Elaine and William J. Kaplan Research Fund, MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210 or to Brown University, William Kaplan Cancer Research Fund, Gift Cashier, Box 1877, Providence, R.I. 02912, www.gifts.development.brown.edu (Go to the “other” category and specify.) Berger Memorial