Born October 5, 1935 in Kenosha Wisconsin, Bill was the son of Ralph E. Chapman and Katherine Gbur Chapman and is survived by his lovely bride of nearly 60 years, Barbara Ann Girsh Chapman. God blessed him in 1957 when he moved from Kenosha to Seattle where he met the love of his life, Barbara. They journeyed from Seattle to Salt Lake City, to Huntsville AL, and finally in 1981, settling in the Tampa Bay Area together. They raised three children: Jeff, Jim, and Julie. A glorious life.
Bill was a U.S. Marine and an engineer for Sperry Rand Corporation working in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs for NASA. One of Bill’s fondest engineering memories, in May of 1973, was to lead the team at Marshall Space Flight Center to develop “the cutter tool” that Pete Conrad would later use in June to free the jammed solar array on Skylab. What a smile it brought to his face, when we observed a part of the cutter tool displayed at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. To say that Bill was dedicated to his profession and his family, would be an understatement.
Bill was a member of the Elks Club and Knights of Columbus. He was a parishioner at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Bradenton. He enjoyed playing golf, but no more than 36 holes in a given day. He also enjoyed boating on the Tennessee River while living in Alabama. When they moved to the Tampa Bay area, he enjoyed boating in the Gulf of Mexico which would later be a favorite pastime in retirement in the Inlets of Bradenton.
He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara Ann Chapman; his three children, Jeff (Nancy) Chapman of Washington D.C., Jim (Kelly) Chapman of New Port Richey, FL, and Julie (Roger) Staub of Fort Lauderdale, FL; his sister, Marilyn (Ed) Barnard of Lake Havasu City, AZ; and grandchildren Karly (James) Dunnigan, Kirsten (Nick) Bernardo, Blake Chapman, Brandon Chapman, Ransom DeWitt, and Emma Staub.
He is preceded in death by his parents and his granddaughter, Kaylyn Chapman.
Arrangements by Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home at Manasota Memorial Park. An online guest book can be signed at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/. Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 15, 2019 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Robert Toale & Sons Funeral Home; 1221 53rd Ave E, Bradenton.
A funeral mass will be held on Friday, August 16, 2019 at 11:00 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church; 3100 26th Street West, Bradenton, FL. A Celebration of Life will follow at Water’s Edge in the Town Center at 12:30 pm. The burial will take place at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made as a memorial to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate, or to Tidewell Hospice Care at https://tidewellhospice.org/home/giving/donate-now.
