Obituary
On May 27, 2025, Kenny “Chap” Chapman, 76, beloved husband, son, father, brother, and unapologetic (or as he put it – “frugal”) spendthrift, passed away following a prolonged illness. He was preceded in death by his father, Lee, his mother, Jane, and his sense of humor with anything relating to elephants or butter beans (if you know, you know).
For most of his life Kenny worked and made his home in Walkerton, Indiana, where he owned the town’s grocery store. The toughest part of his chosen profession appeared to be convincing people he was working while he snuck out the back door to go for a walk. His employees, unphased, encouraged this behavior as it kept him from getting in the way of running their well-oiled machine.
Eventually, Kenny’s desire to become a professional golfer led him to retire early. The good folks at the PGA, with their keen eyes for talent, chuckled at this notion and declined his services, suggesting instead he find a form of exercise more suited to his skillset, like elbow bends. He persisted nonetheless and continued golfing nearly every day for over two decades with little sign of improvement.
Kenny was a people-person and led fulfilling civic and social lives. He was a member of the Walkerton Economic Development Corps, the Walkerton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Walkerton Jaycees, American Legion Post 189, Masonic Lodge 619, Scottish Rite, and the Walkerton United Methodist Church. He was “invited” to become a member of the United States Army in 1968 and served honorably from 1969-1971. While serving, he was deployed to Saigon, Vietnam, where he was a military policeman. It was during this deployment that he was exposed to Agent Orange. Fifty years on, this despicable weapon is what ultimately killed him.
Kenny enjoyed a variety of hobbies with his family. First among them was playing basketball in the driveway with his two sons, Jeff (Missy) and Ray (Jennifer) Chapman, both of whom survive and make their homes in the Indianapolis area. He had the travel bug, and trotted the globe with Nancy, his wife of nearly 52 years, who makes her home in Fort Myers. He enjoyed being outside or playing darts with his sister, Laura (Doug) Brovold, who makes her home in Walkerton. Finally, much to Jeff’s chagrin, he got a kick out of feeding his two grandchildren, Hailey and Aidan, jellybeans for breakfast.
He was passionate about a variety of other subjects as well: he loved cruising town in his pride and joy, a “throaty” 1970 Dodge Charger. He stole soaps and other toiletries from hotels and cruise ships, reasoning “we gotta pay for this vacation somehow”. He retrieved literally thousands of golf balls, a handful of which weren’t even his, from the waters at Swan Lake and Whiskey Creek, where the bartenders are sure to miss his incredibly average tips. He enjoyed late nights on a boat – pontoon or cruise ship, it made no difference. He loved having a drink with his boys while solving the world’s problems and watched 60’s era music videos on YouTube when there was nothing else to do. He appreciated a good clip-on tie. Most of all, he loved laughing and spending time with his friends, the closest of whom he’d known for over 70 years. On any given Tuesday you could find them down below the hill telling the same stories over and over. And over. And over. It is his family’s sincerest hope that upon his passing he was greeted with a hearty “Chap!” and a VO and Coke – easy on the Coke – by those who’d gone before: Bott, Toad, Terry, Larry, Les, George, and all the others. He is sorely missed.
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