Darrell Marvin Chapman's Obituary
Darrell Marvin Chapman
July 3, 1931 - September 29, 2021
Darrell was born in the community of Tyra, also known as Chapman Arms in Hopkins County in East Texas. He was the third child and only son of William Marvin and Ruth Oma Chapman. Ruth became a widow just prior to Darrell's birth and was raised in the hard times of the Great Depression by his mom and two older sisters Louise and Sybil.
The family moved to Abilene for Darrell's school years and it was there he met Frances. She said their first date was at the Paramount Theater with a group of friends, he was 15, she was 12, but a lot would happen over the next 10 years before friendship turned to love and marriage. Tall and slender, basketball was his game and boy did he have game, playing on the Eagles varsity team at Abilene HS he was easy to find in his yearbook pictures, but times were still hard for Darrell and he left school with his family to get work in Dallas. He told of the many weekends he hitchhiked to Abilene and back to see his friends and date, eventually he earned enough money to buy his own car. Darrell managed to get a job at the Sherwin-Williams Paint Company in Dallas and was able to continue playing basketball as SWP sponsored league play and the team was a success, Darrell was recognized many times for his contributions to the team. Years passed and in May 1955 Darrell and Frances married and honeymooned in Galveston which became a life long pastime of revisiting the beach around their anniversary.
Phillip was born the following year in August when they lived in Hutchins outside of Dallas. They traveled back to Abilene regularly and weekly during football season for 4 years to cheer on the Abilene Eagles football sensation, Gerald Williamson, Frances's brother. Darrell continued to play league sports throughout the years and maintained his athleticism to keep up with younger folks. Sherrie came along 8 years after Phillip as he was participating in sports himself in little league football, baseball and yes, basketball. Darrell encouraged his children and rarely missed a game. Sherrie started playing ball when the Garland Girls Softball Association was formed and a good friend recommended Frances to be their coach, Darrell was a proud supporter of Sherrie and Phillip, who, at 6ft 7in, played basketball for the South Garland Colonels. By now you've figured out that Darrell is my Dad and I'll refer to him as such for the rest of my story. When I was almost too young to remember he took us to stock car races on Saturday night, a Blackhawks hockey game and even Putt-putt golf. I was raised a Dallas Cowboys fan in the era when they were "America's team", Dad followed college and professional teams, the Dallas Stars, Mavericks, Texas Rangers, The Olympics and Boxing. Dad had good friends that boxed The Golden Gloves tournaments in Dallas, there weren't many girls around my age at those events and I am proud I got to experience it with my Dad. Bowling had become a family sport and led to a league championship for the "Goofballs" with the KRAFT league where Frances worked for many years. Thanks to Mom and Dad, we were there for future Hall of Famers, Nolan Ryan and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, what a thrill to be a part of Ranger Baseball at that time, "Pudge" Rodriguez's stats are amazing and Nolan Ryan was a household name before he even played for Texas.
Dad was an avid outdoorsman and he also loved his dogs, when he was a teen he rescued a dog because it was going to be put down due to it only had 3 legs. "Captain" became the first of his dogs during his lifetime, an asset when bird hunting is a yearly event. Dad had read about Springer Spaniels and how they made good field dogs and in the mid 80's a fellow hunter invited Dad to come pick out a pup from a litter that was being weened. Well as it turned out, the pup picked him, he said he was reaching for one of the female pups, when this little scraggly male pup put his chin on his boot...nuff said. The pup had been born on Halloween and his name became "Spook", not only did that dog make a good hunting buddy, he could fish too. Spook was a natural picking up birds in the field and got just as excited when Dad was reeling in a fish, they were constant companions for over a decade.
Dad shared his passion of rod and gun to all who were interested and arranged many hunts that included the ladies, he knew a good thing and seeing the gals in his group excel made him proud even when he was being out-gunned or out-fished. His favorite pastime was dove hunts in the fall and bass fishing from the bank of a stock tank, many a time we would be on a dirt road scouting out our next trip when Dad would see a fellow working outside, he would stop to enquire about good places to hunt and fish in the area, we met some of our best friends this way. He would hunt and fish anywhere he got the chance, it was a good excuse to meet new people and take the family on another trip. Striper fishing at Lake Texhoma, Trout in Arkansas, Bass at Lake Fork, shrimp in the gulf, hunting dove all over Texas, Pheasant in Nebraska and the Texas panhandle, Turkey in the Hill Country, quail in West Texas, squirrel in East Texas, I could go on. Then there were the canoe trips, he especially liked the Guadalupe River and we did a lot of camping on "Old River Road". We spent a lot of time boating on the lake too, Dad said two of the happiest times in a man's life was when he got a boat and when he sold it.
Dad was the consummate storyteller and he had a tale for every occasion. We are fortunate to have a lot of them in print, he attested to the fact that they were all true and I believed him. He loved to dance and was a good singer too, long car trips whizzed by listening to he and Mom remembering the words to the oldies. His favorite dance was the Texas Two Step... his only dance was the two step and he taught me early at the annual Lovell reunion. He and Mom were eager to go when friends and family called to invite them to a get-together and I got to tag along, ready for a road trip at a moments notice, Dad always got us home safely, that's saying a lot cause we were on the road west to California, east to Maryland, north to Colorado or Nebraska south to Old Mexico and all points in between, first in a station wagon then a van. On a rare occasion, they got away by themselves one year and went fishing in Florida, visited Epcot and St. Augustine. Mom called while they were stuck in a traffic jam in Daytona...in February. We laughed when I said their timing could have been better. There was always room for more when the Chapman's went on the road. Yes, there were lots of stories.
We all know the pain of loosing your beloved pet and how you say never again, but a few years after Spook died Dad read about this Springer that had been rescued with another dog trying to cross Interstate 30 near Dallas, he contacted this person and told her that if no one came to claim the dog he would be interested. As I mentioned earlier Dad was a huge Texas Rangers fan. At the time, Will Clark was the Rangers first baseman and he was one of Dad's favorite players and that became the dogs new name. " Will Clark ". Dad was anxious to get "Will" , as we called him, out in the field and discover what he had, well that poor city dog had never been in open country in its life and at the first sound of gunfire went running for the safety and comfort of the van. He was more of a "fireplace dog' than anything else but he eventually came around. You know, Will was one of the sweetest dogs you would ever want to have around which made up for his lack of field work, I think he knew how lucky he was that day he came home with Dad.
There was always something to read at Dad's side, you would find the sports section with hand written notes, a copy of Field and Stream and Texas Highways with ear marks, an atlas for planning the next trip and a good book, several in fact. They knew him well at the library and I remember as a child spending hours at the library dropping off and and picking out books then riding on the back of his motorcycle through the park on the way to the community center for a game of pick-up on the basketball court or playing ping-pong while I watched, played or read Little House on the Prairie books. I have a cherished photo of Dad leaning over me teaching me how to shoot pool. He also taught me to whistle and play 42, the 4 of us would play and Dad was always patient, as 42 count dominos is not an easy game to master and Phillip had 8 years on me. Luckily Mom and Dad had good friends that they played with regularly and I got better while watching them. Dad would halt after a particular hand played out to give me teaching opportunities and explain strategies, he was a good teacher and he and Mom were really good 42 players.
As they slowed down the car trips became fewer, but special trips by plane and train took our family to Hawaii, Bahamas and Alaska. Dad retired from Sherwin Williams after 43 years service and Mom worked just a few more years after him. When both were retired they were back on the road for monthly trips to Lake Brownwood and beyond. Dad and Mom attended Monica Park Christian Church (Disciple's of Christ), remaining active and participating in church activities was one of the best decisions in our life. After Will Clark passed, they went for some time without a dog, other than that Dad and Mom were content in their lives, I had met and married my husband and moved to Tennessee, I was comforted knowing that they had their church family. Dad became a Deacon at MPCC and assisted in the church office weekly with Mom, she became an Elder and was called to teach the Ray Cooper Sunday School Class. Dad had thoughts of getting a Black Lab puppy for quite awhile and when his heart doctor said that a valve would need to be replaced and would require open heart surgery, he made up his mind that if he survived this he would get that puppy. As we know God has a plan and with support and prayers Dad come through the surgery just fine but God went one step further, the physical therapist that came to the house for his rehab just happened to have a large litter of Black Labrador puppies, one of the pups had a bad leg and couldn't be sold, just what an aging gentleman needed. Dad said he should have had that surgery sooner because he could already tell he felt stronger than he had been in years. That pup needed a name, "Captain" came to mind and so as it turns out Captain was the name of his first dog and his last. After puppy school Captain and Dad were best bud's and he was so smart...the pup that is, they were perfect for each.
Yearly trips to Tennessee were the norm then a very special trip for their 50th wedding anniversary took us deep into Mexico and a long-time dream was fulfilled for Dad, riding the Chepe Rail Train deep into the Copper Canyon. That was the last big trip we spent as a family. Eventually even the 2000 mile round trips to TN became tedious and Frances's health began to decline as well. Phillip stepped in to assist them at home while I remained in TN with my husband. Dad took care of Mom with Phil's help but the ravages of multiple strokes took it's toll and while the whole world shut down from the COVID-19 pandemic and after almost 66 years of marriage Frances was freed from her broken body and mind and was made new again through Christ in Heaven. Darrell and Captain went on, as he had become accustomed to being self sufficient since Mom had not been able to keep house for some time, but too soon Dad had to say goodbye to Captain as well, not long after loosing Mom, 15 years is a long life for a 100# canine. Dad told me over the phone on his birthday, that the sad thing about living to be 90, you have to say goodbye more often than you care to. He cooked his meals, washed his clothes and let Phillip drive him on the occasion they had to leave the house. I myself had just lost my husband from cancer about the time Mom died and was in the process of moving back home to help Dad around the house but it wasn't meant to be. Dad had failing kidneys most of his adult life, mostly due to kidney stones, he had been functioning on just one kidney for many years and it didn't take much to get his system out of balence, but this time he didn't recover, he was called from this world in his sleep on September 29, 2021 to join Frances and his Heavenly Family. Thank you God for Jesus Christ, that we may all be together again.
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