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One of our classmates from Barrington, Craig Chapman, passed away early today in Dublin, O. He left the Arlington system after sixth grade and went to the Columbus Academy, then on to Princeton Univ.
Chapman, Jr. D. Craig Chapman, Jr., M.D., age 66, passed away on Saturday, January 18, 2014. He was a retired physician and an Army veteran. Predeceased by parents Donald Craig Chapman Sr. and Gloria Jean (McDonald) Chapman. Dr. Chapman was a graduate of The Columbus Academy, Princeton University, and The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He is survived by his wife, Cathy Hsiao-Ku Li; three brothers-in-law and their spouses, Shun-Ku Lee (Una), Lu-Ku Li (Gwo-Ying), Yu-Ku Li(Christin); and a sister, Bessie, and her spouse, Yung-Ku Yen(Vince). Also surviving him are nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews; and his sisters, Cathleen A Chapman and Christine A Chapman. "We will love and miss you always." No service will be held at Dr. Chapman's request. Arrangements completed by WEIR-AREND FUNERAL HOME. Please visit www.weirarendfuneral.com to sign the official online condolence book.
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Rick Gordon
At our reunion in 2010, several classmates recalled memorable folks in our group who were unique individuals. Chapman's name always came up when the Barrington "grads" held such conversations.
I got to know this character when we were next-door neighbors in south Arlington from 1950 until 1957. His family lived on Edgemont Road and enjoyed the camaraderie of friends in the village - the whole family reminded me of the "Ozzie and Harriet" model of the good life in post-war U.S.A. Craig was the oldest of the three kids and may have been the most competitive and brightest baby-boomer I ever met.
For those of us in school and in scouting who watched Chap grow and receive a true classical education, we found that this young man drove himself to excel to an incredible degree. By the time he was accepted to Princeton, Craig had mastered about seven foreign languages, six or seven musical instruments, all of the existing forms of mathematics and scientific study, classical literature, the world's great religions, world history, the social sciences . . . . well, you get the idea. He must have broken the national record for achieving Eagle Scout - Craig earned most of the 21 merit badges in one summer. That's obscene - it took most of us three or four years!
Craig was a very courteous person and a loyal friend. My parents were always stunned by the degree of maturity in the guy's discussions with adults.
Chap was not really pleased that his family transferred him to Columbus Academy after the Sixth Grade in Arlington, but he probably understood what was going on. None of us saw him very often after grade school and it's a sad thing that many of our fine classmates didn't have the chance to get to know Craig.
After college, our friend went to Law School for a year, ace'd all his classes and then told his father he was bored with school. Craig volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam (against his parents' wishes) and the decorated veteran found no boredom over in Southeast Asia. Three years later he was in Medical School and finally in a field that inspired him.
He found the right lady and stayed with her for over forty years. Chapman e-mailed several of us often after 2010 and continuously exclaimed, "God, I love medicine!"
Now you know the rest of the story . . . rlg