Mary Elizabeth Tappen, also known as Betty, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at Community Medical Center in Toms River.

Born in Woodbridge on July 1, 1921 to the late Grace (nee Brown) and Harry John Baker, she lived to be 101 years old.

Mrs. Tappen graduated Woodbridge High School in 1938, attended New Jersey College for Women (Douglas College) and graduated from Rutgers in 1965 with a degree in Public Administration.

Professionally, Mrs. Tappen went on to be the first woman Chief Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Official in New Jersey, and was employed by Woodbridge Township in that capacity for 26 years. She retired and moved to Manchester, NJ, in 1980. Furthermore, Mrs. Tappen was the Secretary of the Building Officials Association of NJ for five years and served as a licensure advisor to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Building Subcommittee. That committee "hammered out" New Jersey's first Uniform Construction Code in 1977. In addition, she taught a sixteen-week Construction Officials Licensing Course at Middlesex County College.

Mrs. Tappen also gave back to her community. She was a member of the White Church Guild of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge. She was an associate member of the Lakehurst Presbyterian Church. During her life, she had taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and was a Girl Scout Leader for Troop 52 in Avenel. She was honored for her participation in the Helping Hands program at Leisure Knoll, Manchester.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, David Hunter Tappen, in 1999, and sister, Annabelle Baker-Gehring, in 2022.

Surviving her are her daughter, Dianne Tappen-Bolton, and son-in-law, Robin Bolton, of Metuchen, NJ, and her nephews' families: Daniel, Kathy, Daniel Jr, Michael and Johanna Tappen, of Poughkeepsie, NY; Bill, Vicki, Alex and Sage Gehring, of Caribou, ME; Clifford Gehring, of Sanford, ME; David,  Pat, Scott and Shannon Taggart, of Orlando, FL; and William, Debbie, Ryan and Christopher Taggart, of Bayville, NJ.

She is also survived by her cousins: Joan Brown Andrek, of Sterling, NJ; Kathleen Brown Simmons, of Salem, NC; and Clayton, Gerry, James and Kevin Brown, of Spencer, NY.

Funeral Services were private under the direction of Costello-Greiner Funeral Home, Woodbridge.

Mrs. Tappen always said that donations in her memory to the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, to help preserve the historic graveyard, would be appreciated.