Sally Ramsey Chapline

Sally Ramsey Chapline, 89, of Leawood, Kansas passed away peacefully at AdventHealth hospital after a three-day stay, receiving treatment for aspiration pneumonia. With Chaplain Bryan’s melodious In the Garden rendition, she left this earth for her heavenly home, surrounded by her family.

Sally was born in Oklahoma City, OK to Warren and Dorothy Ramsey in 1932. She grew up as an only child in a brick home designed by her father and mother. The home sits directly across the street from Nichols Hills Elementary School where Sally Lou made friends with whom she stayed connected to until the end. She had a childhood typical for the era—putting on rolling skating shows with her friends, collecting tin foil for the war effort, and becoming a young Red Cross volunteer. An Honor Society member, active in Classen High School clubs, Sally gained acceptance to Smith College; sight unseen, she arrived there in the fall of 1950. Her two years at Smith “offered a great opportunity to mature both educationally and socially in a new and challenging environment” (quoted from her submission to her Smith class 50th reunion book). Sally would recount that she was forced to take a speech course her first semester, a thinly veiled effort to eradicate her midwestern twang. She treasured the friendships made and ideals instilled at Smith, and often returned to North Hampton, MA for reunions.

You can take the girl out of Oklahoma, but you couldn’t take the Oklahoma out of the girl. Transferring to Oklahoma University her junior year gave Sally a chance to reconnect with her Oklahoma roots. She graduated with a degree in English. At OU, she pledged Kappa Gamma, and later enjoyed the friendships she made through the Kansas City alumnae chapter. Sally became a die-hard OU football and basketball fan. She attended eight OU football bowl games in a ten year span with her son John, highlighted by her beloved Sooners defeating Alabama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl.

Fellow Oklahoman Will Rogers is quoted as saying, “A stranger is just a friend I haven’t met;” Sally journeyed through her life seemingly guided by this mantra. This includes a chance poolside meeting with a handsome stranger, a Naval Reserve pilot, at the La Posada Hotel in Santa Fe, NM. After a whirlwind, long-distance courtship, Sally and Ed Chapline were married on May 25, 1955 in Oklahoma City. Sally easily adapted to her new world in Kansas City, and, throughout their 63 years of married life there, shared laughter, travel, and treasured time with family. Among the special memories are the family’s annual trips to Hilton Head, SC, summers at Lake Lotawana, and multiple holiday and spring break gatherings at Ed and Sally’s second home in Scottsdale, AZ -- all lovingly orchestrated by “Mama C.”

Her somewhat sheltered upbringing didn’t stop Sally from being game to try new things and to live life with zest. Despite not learning how to swim as a child, Sally mastered slalom water skiing, and could be found majestically crossing the wake on her ‘Big Board’ ski at Lake Lotawana until she was 70. She took up tennis at Leawood Country Club and later expanded her ladies’ doubles friendships at both the Carriage Club and Woodside. In later years, she took up golf, joking that her score on nine holes looks right for eighteen, and savored the moment of chipping in 25 feet from the pin for a birdie while playing with Ellen on her 80th birthday in Scottsdale.

Sally was an active volunteer for the great majority of her life. She was a member of the Junior League of Kansas City. Sally was a docent at the Nelson Gallery of Art, but most impactful in her family’s mind was her initiating the ‘Picture Lady’ program at her children’s Brookwood Elementary School. Sally served on the Vestry of Christ Church in Overland Park, KS and was one of the longest serving members of the Altar Guild. Sally was one of the most dedicated volunteers with the local Meals on Wheels organization, delivering meals to recipients older than she for the last several years of her decades long effort. She was also a founding member of the Witter Women investment club, guided by her son, Robert.

In between her volunteer commitments, Sally had a whole lot of fun with a wide circle of close friends. Antics with the ‘Bear Group’, commanding the van for the bridge club’s expeditions to the Ozarks, and whipping up bottomless margaritas for her Connections/MDHC group at the lake were among the highlights.

Before “random acts of kindness” were even a thing, Sally embodied it. With her spontaneous, giving spirit, Sally was always ready to share a smile, a thoughtful word, or invest in someone in whom she believed. She was the wind beneath her children’s wings, be it endless driving to activities, editing their school papers, or procuring the flatbed for their entries to the Leawood 4th of July Parade. Sally served as a role model to all, treating everyone she met with respect.

In closing, here are Sally’s own words from the Smith reunion book: “My greatest hopes have been fulfilled as wife and Mom. Every day, I give thanks for the love of a good man, the happy lives of our children, and the caring parental roles they exercise daily. I have seen the miracle of a grandson born, held twins in my arms, and as all grandmas, have ‘bust my buttons’ at the accomplishments of the grandkids.”

Sally is survived by her daughter, Ellen Kay (children David and Sally and their respective spouses, Lally and Luke), her son Robert (wife Elise and their sons Tom and Mark and his fiancée Sally Ann Mitchell), and son John (wife Cindy and their twin daughters, Dede and Jessie.) The family is so grateful for those who cared for Sally in her home, and especially the staff of the Claridge Court nursing center community, who, for the last three years, have been part of our family circle. Sally will be remembered as the gracious matriarch of the family, whose love as a friend, wife, mother and grandmother is unconditional and eternal.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Christ Church Anglican in Overland Park, KS on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in Sally’s memory can be made to Meals on Wheels, 7810 W. 79th St, Overland Park, KS 66204 or Christ Church Anglican, 5500 West 91st Street, Overland Park, KS 66207.