Gail Kathleen Chapman

Gail was born on August 7, 1925 in Point, Texas, the daughter of Oscar Alton and Lelia Prince Passons. She graduated from Point High School in 1943 and received her associate degree from Austin Community College in 1986.

During World War II Gail served her country as a civilian worker at Carswell Air Force Base northwest of Fort Worth. She was a wing section inspector, and in her words “crawled through many a B-24 checking rivets and following the color-coded wiring in the nose of the planes”. After the war ended, Gail married Charlie Chapman in March 1946 and they settled in Austin in 1951. During their 70-year marriage, Gail and Charlie raised three children. Gail was a talented quilter and loved to sew. She shared her talents teaching refugee women to sew through a ministry at Hyde Park Baptist Church. She was happiest when surrounded by her family, especially her great granddaughters.

Gail was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie, her son, Charles and her siblings. She is survived by her daughters Cathy Harkins and husband Tim of Hays County; Carol Nelson and husband, David of Marble Falls; granddaughter Catherine Bedell and husband Kent of Austin; grandson Dave Helms and wife Amy of Denton; great granddaughters Hayden Grace Bedell, Harper Kate Bedell, Alison Brooke Helms and Rachel Katherine Helms.

Gail’s grandchildren and great grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers along with the men and women of her much loved Adult 5 Sunday School class at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Her family would like to extend their gratitude to Gail’s loving hospice nurse, Ginny Mayle, and to the caring staff at The Pavilion at Great Hills Memory Care.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, September 30, 2019 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home on North Lamar. Interment will follow at Austin Memorial Park.