Elmer Robert Tapper Sr. (June 19, 1929 – September 17, 2011), usually known as E. T. Tapper, was an attorney and a Democratic member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

from his native

St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (; ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Or ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Tapper was first elected to the House in 1960, with the incoming

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American singer, songwriter, and Democratic Party politician. After achieving fame for releasing both sacred and popular songs, Davis served as governor of Louisiana from ...

administration. He was unseated in 1964 by fellow Democrat Sammy Nunez. However, he returned to the House in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1969. In his second stint from 1969 to 1972, Tapper served from a combined St. Bernard and Plaquemines district. From 1972 to 1976, he again represented only St. Bernard Parish. In 1973, Tapper he was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention, which produced a new governing document for his state.''Everett Herald'', Everett,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, October 16, 2011 The son of Elmer and Sarah Tapper, he was reared in

Violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Vi ...

, a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in St. Bernard Parish and a suburb of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where Tapper assisted his father in fishing local lakes and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. He was christened in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1952, he received his law degree from

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a private law school in New Orleans, Louisiana affiliated with Loyola University New Orleans. Loyola's law school opened in 1914 and is now located on the Broadway Campus of the university in the hi ...

. He wed his high school sweetheart, the former Audra Galjour, and then entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Upon discharge from military service as a private, Tapper practiced law for thirty-five years and served a total of eleven years in the legislature, claiming to have represented the interests of "the little guy." From 1976 to 1984, Tapper was the attorney for the Louisiana Pardon Board. In his later years, Tapper and his wife relocated to Everett,

, where he died at the age of eighty-two.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapper, Elmer R. 1929 births 2011 deaths Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana Politicians from New Orleans Politicians from Everett, Washington Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni United States Army soldiers Lawyers from New Orleans Catholics from Louisiana Catholics from Washington (state) 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature