Eleanor Norma Chapman, 90, of Rockland, died peacefully at her home during the early morning hours of March 24.
Born in Port Clyde, on Nov. 11, 1923, Eleanor was the second eldest daughter of Charles B. and Charlena Wilson Tracy. Educated in Rockland schools, she was a graduate of Rockland High School’s Class of 1943.
While attending a dance in the Tower Room at Rockland Recreation Center, Eleanor met Lawrence W. Chapman. That one moment in time, sparked an enduring, unwavering love and devoted commitment to each other that spanned over 64 years of marriage and partnership.
Eleanor and Lawrence were engaged on Jan. 4, 1944. They were married at the Thomaston Baptist Church parsonage on Nov. 6, 1945 while Lawrence was home on a short shore leave from the U.S. Navy during WWII. After her husband returned to duty in the South Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Hancock, Eleanor continued her part in the war effort at home as a clerk with the Office of Price & Rationing Administration. When the war ended, Eleanor and Lawrence joined their hands and their hearts together and began their family.
They made their first home on Gleason Street in Thomaston and built their camp at Hosmer Pond. In 1958, they bought the Creighton House on Main Street. In 1967, they purchased a home on Rockland’s Masonic Street, where they lived for the rest of their lives.
Eleanor was a loving, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She happily anticipated the birth and the growth of each and every one of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She lavished them all with her love and her time. Everyday spent with Grammy was special, every sleepover, an event not to be missed.
Her given talents were many and she used them all in so many ways. She was a natural born caregiver, teacher and nurse. She was a wonderful cook, an accomplished seamstress, who could sew anything from tatting a handkerchief to sewing prom dresses and wedding gowns for her daughters. She loved to knit, spending hours at work on sweaters, hats, scarves and mittens.
She shared her father’s love of gardening, both of vegetables and flowers, which lasted her entire lifetime. She had a quick mind for bookkeeping and numbers. She liked the challenge of revitalizing old things to their former glory or finding new ways to revive them into usefulness. She enjoyed music, especially Harry James and Glenn Miller. She had a lifelong love of books and literature; and when her eyesight began to fail she turned to audio books and loved to have family members read to her. Eleanor left an indelible mark on each life that she touched and on each heart that she loved.
Eleanor was predeceased by her beloved husband, Lawrence W. Chapman; and sisters, Lois C. Tracy Talbot, and Evelyn M. Tracy Munsey.
Eleanor is survived by daughters, Paula Maxcy and husband Charles, Deborah Gagne, all of Warren, and Belinda Chapman of South Thomaston; sisters, Marion E. Tracy King of Gloucester, Mass., Anne Tracy Bray and husband Maynard of Brooklin; grandchildren, Steven Maxcy and wife Deborah of Saco, Darren Maxcy and wife Kimberly of Bristol, Michelle DeBlois of Turner, Kathryn LaRiviere and husband Joseph of Lewiston, Jason Cook and companion Nan Kosoongnoen of Corona, Cal., Jeremy Cook and wife Tanya Panichpakdee of Long Beach, Cal., and Stephanie Cook of South Thomaston; great-grandchildren, Lydia and Drew Maxcy of Saco, Kalob and wife Angelica of Virginia, Katlyn Eaton of Florida, Karidene Eaton of Germany, Barrett and Dennison Maxcy of Bristol, Kaitlyn and Hannah DeBlois of Turner, Connor LaRiviere of Lewiston, Nadia Cook-Ames of South Thomaston, and Boden Cook of California; great-great grandchildren, Juliana and Ricky Eaton of Virginia; many nieces and nephews and extended family; kittens Sultan and Titchaba; and parrot Poko.
A private graveside service, for Lawrence and Eleanor, will be held in the spring, at the Village Cemetery in Thomaston with a celebration of life, following, at the family home on Masonic Street.
Memorial donations may be made to The Pope Memorial Humane Society of Knox County, P.O. Box 1294, Rockland, ME 04841, or to Kno-Wal-Lin Homecare & Hospice, 22 White St., Rockland, ME 04841.
To share a memory or condolence with Eleanor’s family, please visit her Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.
Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland.
