Minister’s fans include
daughter Miss America

The Rev. Frederick Sapp was known for his generosity, his community service and his cowboy boots.

"These are to stamp out sin," he used to tell his Big Island congregation, pointing at his well-worn shoes.

He'd pause before adding: "And to kill a few cockroaches in the corner, too."

Sapp, who helped start the Meals on Wheels program in Honolulu and served as pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in Kailua-Kona for 27 years, died Thursday at his Kona home. He was 68 and had suffered from lung cancer.

"He wasn't just a man of God; he was a man of character," said daughter Carolyn Sapp, the first Hawaii woman to win the Miss America title. "I am who I am because of how my dad set an example for me."

Sapp was born in Ambridge, Penn., and was ordained as a Lutheran minister. He was an associate pastor in California before coming to Oahu in the 1970s, where he helped found the Meals on Wheels program.

In 1978 he moved to the Big Island, where he helped construct the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity. He was the church's pastor until his retirement last year.

He also ministered in the community, helping counsel in domestic violence, child abuse and Alcoholics Anonymous programs.

And he fought to better the lifestyles of the less advantaged on the Big Island, Carolyn Sapp said. She remembered a dinner with Gov. John Waihee in 1992, after she won the Miss America title, during which her father pushed for more money and better equipment for the Kona Hospital.

"He had it all laid out, telling the governor how to ... make it happen," she said, with a laugh. "He was just an incredible leader and an example. He is so missed."

Services for Sapp were yesterday at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity. In lieu of flowers, the family asks tributes be sent to the church. Sapp is survived by wife Carmen; daughters Natalie Shiotsuka and Carolyn; son Samuel; mother Katherine of Baden, Penn.; and sister Susan Wrotny of Baden, Penn.