Former Bellaire City Manager John Pape — who in his 64 years navigated between careers in law enforcement, city management, community journalism and writing fiction — has died from a brain tumor.
Friends in the Goliad County Sheriff’s Office, where he served as a captain and commander of law enforcement operations, reported his death on Sunday. They said he had not confided in many about his diagnosis last fall of the inoperable tumor and, in fact, was running in this year’s elections for a constable’s position in Goliad.
Pape served as Bellaire’s city manager for four years, from 1996-2000, was city manager in two other Texas cities and police chief in two, after launching his career in public service in the 1970s as a police officer in Lake Charles, La., where he was honored for his valor.
He spent nearly five years in community journalism in the Houston area, as an editor in Fort Bend County for Houston Community Newspapers and for Instant News.
He was also a published author, with works ranging from remembrances of growing up in the Texas Hill Country to a trilogy of mystery novels.
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