After a life of love and quiet grace, Shirley Ann Chapman of Leonard, TX has passed.
Below, the family shares some of what made her life meaningful.
Shirley held deeply to the Baptist faith — and was, by all accounts, loved by those who knew her best.
Those who live by belief leave a different kind of mark.
IN LOVING MEMORY
Shirley Ann Chapman
May 12 1942 - Apr 29 2026 Apr 29 2026
Shirley Ann Chapman, a child of God, died peacefully at home on April 29,2026. She was born on May 12, 1942, in Oilton Oklahoma, the first daughter of Ruth (Deathridge) Alsip and Glen Alsip.
Shirley was the devoted wife of Arthur (Fred) Chapman and the mother of three daughters. When Shirley was eighteen, she joined the Navy and was stationed at Bainbridge, Maryland. During her service as a WAVE, she met Fred on a blind date, and the two were married on April 15, 1961. Their union lasted sixty-five years. Shirley's lifelong love for God, her family, and the larger community could be measured in the quilts she made and gave away over the last thirty years. Shirley made quilts for new babies and newlyweds, friends and family, and sometimes for people she just met.
In addition to quilting, Shirley was a lifelong volunteer who participated in activities ranging from vacation Bible schools to high school football concession stands, from Girl Scout Day camps to Wednesday night church dinners. She always wanted to be a nurse and earned her LVN in 1987. When her daughters were in school, she worked a variety of jobs, including at Mary of Pudding Hill, K-Mart, Shirey's, and Haggar's. For ten years, from 1976-1986, Shirley tooled leather for saddles, first for Billy Cook Saddles, then as an independent contractor.
Shirley loved travel, Christmas, reading the Bible, and most of all, she loved people. Left to cherish memories of Shirley are her husband, Fred, and her daughters, Suzanne Heagy, Betsy Kirk, and Patti Hollis and husband, Tommy, grandchildren, Tricia Adams, April Gagliano, Shane Burden, Derek Burden, Cortney Leung, Cara Sparks, and Casey Theis, nine great grandchildren, brother, Toby Alsip, and sister-in-law, Linda Oost.
Preceding Shirley in death was her mother, Ruth (Deathridge) Alsip, father, Glen Alsip, and siblings, Dixie Simpson, Max Alsip, Judy Warden, Ted Alsip, Tim Alsip, and Gwendolyn Alsip.
A viewing for family and friends will be held on Monday, May 4, 2026, from 5-7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Leonard. The funeral will follow on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Leonard with a burial at I.O.O.F Cemetery in Farmersville.
