William Percy Chapman

William (Bill) Chapman of Port Charlotte passed away on March 14, 2021. He was born on December 5, 1927 in Sanford, Florida to William and Annie Lee Chapman. He attended public schools in Sanford, graduating from Seminole HighSchool in early 1945, then attended two semesters at Florida Southern College before enlisting in the Navy. While in the Navy he was trained as an electronic technician, then served as an instructor teaching at the Electronic Technician Service School wherehe’d been trained. With the war over, he was honorably discharged on October 1, 1947. He returned to college on the G.I. bill, completing the remainder of his first two years at Florida Southern and then transferring to the University of Illinois. He receivedhis Bachelor of Science degree in 1951, and went to work for Bell Laboratories in Whippany, NJ. He spent his entire career at Bell Laboratories, starting out by designing the guidance systems for Nike series anti-ballistic missiles, and ending his careercoordinating system tests for the first half dozen cellular phone locations in the United States.

Shortly after moving to New Jersey in 1951 he met Alice O’Rear, and they were married in August 1952. During the early years of their marriage his work took the two of them back and forth between New Jersey and White Sands,NM. The couple and their three children also lived on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands from 1967 through 1970. Kwajalein was an Army missile test range, and Bill was overseeing guidance systems for the missiles that were launched from the island. After returning from Kwajalein the family settled in Mendham, NJ. In 1988, he and Alice retired to Punta Gorda where they were both active members of the First United Methodist Church, and he helped teach celestial navigation as a member of the Peace RiverSail and Power Squadron.

Bill was beloved by his family, who enjoyed visiting in weekly Zoom calls, receiving his annual Christmas letter, sharing vacations in Florida, Hilton Head, S.C. and Maryland, and hearing stories of his life growing up in Florida. He is survived by daughter Cynthia (John) Curtis, son Alan (Elizabeth) Chapman; son-in-law WIlliam Armbruster (Jeanette); grandchildren Jonathan Chapman, Katherine Armbruster, Richard (Emilie) Armbruster, and Christopher, Katherine, and Claire Drewniak; andgreat-grandchild James Armbruster. He was preceded in death by his wife Alice and daughter, Linda Armbruster.

A memorial service for Bill will be held at 1pm on Saturday November 13, 2021 at the First United Methodist Church of Punta Gorda, 507 W. Marion Ave.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to First United Methodist Church of Punta Gorda (https://whatis1st.churchcenter.com/giving) or Tidewell Hospice (https://tidewellfoundation.org/donate/)

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