Chapman will turn 100

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Billy Sunday "Bill" Chapman, a former resident of Scott and Stoddard Counties, will celebrate his 100th birthday during a reception with family and friends at 2 p.m. July 19 at Heartland Care and Rehab Center.

Born July 19, 1916, near Advance, to George Edward and Mella Clorence Reed "Millie" Chapman, Mr. Chapman was the sixth of nine children. His siblings were the late Gideon "Reed" Chapman, Hope "Ford" Chapman, Leita Lorrine Chapman Kiehn (Louis "Ponnie"), Maxine Estelle Chapman Smith (Karl), Myrene Elizabeth Chapman Wilkinson (Everett), Aquilla Dewitt "Quill" Chapman, Thomas Benjamin "Ben" Chapman and Jack Adkins Chapman.

He first attended a small school in the country called Tilman or Pleasant Hill for about a year and a half. He then moved and attended Advance grade school and completed elementary school at Goose Pond Hill.

He and Gladys "LaRue" Scism were married April 6, 1938, at the Stoddard County Courthouse in Bloomfield. She preceded him in death on Aug. 8, 1999, after 60 years of marriage.

The couple had seven children: Margaret Alma Chapman Heuring; Kenneth Edward Chapman, Glae "Norman" Chapman, Larry Hugh Chapman and Sharon LaRue Chapman Bowen; and the late Billy Dale Chapman and Mary Alice Chapman Kinder.

Mr. Chapman began his working career as a farmhand for Claude Willett in Perkins in 1939. He then worked for Martin Dunn of Oran from 1943 to 1944. From 1944 to 1950 he worked for W.A. Hyde south of Essex. In January 1950, the family moved to Leora, where he worked for Morlan. In October 1950, the family moved to Blomeyer, and he began working at the International Shoe Factory in Cape Girardeau. He retired from the International Shoe Co. in 1976. In 1973, the family moved to Chaffee, where he resided until 2014. Mr. Chapman now resides at Heartland Care and Rehab in Cape Girardeau.

Those wanting to wish Mr. Chapman a happy 100th birthday can send cards to: Heartland Care & Rehab Center, 2525 Boudin Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701.

Lifestyles