Rochelle (Shelly) Kappe

Rochelle (Shelly) Kappe

12/30/28-3/29/25

Shelly Kappe, born Rochelle Hope Diamond in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died peacefully in Santa Monica, CA at the age of 96. Beloved wife of architect Raymond Kappe, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she will be missed and remembered by many in Los Angeles, a city that she loved, and by her many friends in the architectural community around the world.

Shelly was an architectural historian, an architectural educator, and a founding faculty member at SCI- ARC, an independent innovative school of architecture founded in 1972. Shelly was a tireless advocate for modem architecture in general, and Ray Kappe's architecture in particular. At SCI-ARC, she established a popular lecture series that invited speakers from all over the world and was made available to the greater Los Angeles community. Shelly curated an architectural gallery showcasing world talent, and established a library, now called the Kappe Library, located at SCI-ARC in downtown LA. She organized and led numerous architectural tours in LA over the decades, eager to open up new doors for others. Using the Vico Morcote SCI-ARC campus in Switzerland as home base, she did the same for many of her students with architectural tours all over Europe. An intrepid world traveler, when China and the Soviet Union opened up to the West, she was an early visitor. Most recently, in her 90's, she completed writing and editing a manuscript on the history of SCI-ARC in celebration of the school's 50th anniversary.

As a mother and grandmother, she encouraged creativity and culture. Whether it was a walk on the beach collecting shells, learning how to play guitar as a young mother, establishing a co-operative nursery school, dancing modem ballet with her young daughter, piano lessons for her son, enjoying musicals, cooking and fine dining, visiting museums or attending concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, she energetically lived life to the fullest.

Shelly was very family-oriented and made it her mission to keep in touch over the decades with family members spread across the US. She was a communicator, an outgoing people-person, a collaborator committed to her vision and tenaciously persevering on all issues that she was passionate about.

Six years ago, Shelly was predeceased by her lifelong husband and companion, Ray. She is survived by her children, Ron Kappe (partner, Diane Balmer), Karen Kappe and Finn Kappe (partner, Julie Truher) her grandchildren Adam Kappe, Bryan Kappe, Tessa Kappe (spouse, Sam Hartman) and Wilson Kaiser (spouse, Stacey Kaiser) and her great-grandchildren River Kappe and Cambrie Kaiser.

The family wishes to thank her very special care-givers, Gilbert and Blanca Valladares.

If you would like to contribute to Shelly's legacy, donations can be made to The Kappe Library - Honor With Books - SCI - Arc