Dr. Mildred Norris Stratton Chapman, 91, entered her heavenly home from Miller’s Merry Manor on Wednesday, September 20, 2017. The daughter of Virgil and Margaret Rowland Stratton, she was born on May 15, 1926, in Mercer County, Kentucky. Her primary and secondary education occurred in Mercer County Public Schools where she was 1943 valedictorian at Fairview High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude with majors in English and social studies from Asbury College (now Asbury University) and later completed M.A. and Ed.D degrees at the University of Kentucky. She was the first College of Education doctoral candidate to be funded by a Kentucky Research Foundation Fellowship.
Marriage to Albert T. Chapman, Jr., at the Mount Hebron Methodist Church in Mercer County, Kentucky, on August 17, 1960, brought her to Marion, Indiana, where she has since lived.
Her career as an educator began with eight years teaching in Kentucky Public Schools and continued with one year teaching at Asbury College, five years at Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University), and 22 years at Taylor University. Various post-retirement responsibilities there completed her career. Her work at Taylor included English and Education with particular emphasis on the preparation and supervision of student teachers. She received Taylor University’s Professor of the Year honor for 1990-1991 and the 1997 Asbury College Alumni Award.
In April 2016, she received an award from the University of Kentucky College of Education recognizing her for having been “A Teacher Who Made a Difference.” Nomination for the award came from a now retired, very successful civil servant who was a high school student during Mildred’s first teaching assignment. The student declared, “She played a meaningful role in the adult I became.”
Her collegiate career included responsibility for writing or editing reports to accrediting agencies, serving on evaluation groups at other institutions, preparing significant grant applications, and a three-year directorship of the Pew Foundation funded Writing Across the Curriculum Program of the then 13 colleges of the Christian College Consortium. She also wrote a Writing for Teachers textbook used in Taylor’s education curriculum.
Service to her Lord and Savior was always foremost on her busy agenda. A 56-year member of the former Westminster Presbyterian Church, her active involvements included service as a deacon, elder, session clerk, moderator, Sunday school teacher, Bible study leader, Vacation Bible School director, Women’s Association president, and presbytery participation. She also served on the board of Church Women United and received their Valiant Woman Award in 2008.
Involvement in the community included continuing membership and serving as the first president of the Grant County chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an education honorary. She filled various positions in the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and participated in the AAUW spinoffs, the Our World Study Group and Book Club, and as a life member of the Grant County Retired Teachers Association. A member and former president of the Marion Women’s Department Club, she also enjoyed Hostess House membership.
Her hobbies included pursuing national and international friendships, collecting antiques and china, reading, hiking, and flower gardening.
Survivors include her sons, Albert “Bert” (Becky) Chapman, III, Lafayette, and Brent Chapman, Hartford City; four nieces, Connie Nation, Eminence, Kentucky, Toni (Gary) Simmons, Donna (Brad) Halderman, and Lisa Covington, all from Lexington, Kentucky; and several cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Albert; her parents; two infant sisters; and a foster brother, James Donald Brown and his wife, Joyce.
Calling will be from 4-8 p.m. on Monday, September 25, 2017, at Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, IN.
Services to celebrate Mildred’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, at the funeral home with Dr. Jay Kesler and Rev. Jeff Jahn officiating. Burial will follow at Estates of Serenity.
Memorials may be directed to the Albert and Mildred Chapman Scholarship Fund designated for local students at Taylor University.
Online condolences may be made at www.nswcares.com.