Donna Lee Chapman, 78, passed away peacefully on Thursday March, 28, 2019. Donna was born in Worcester, MA on March 24, 1941 to Joseph C Montimurro and Rose (Molinari) Montimurro. She grew up surrounded by the warm love of her immediate and extended Italian family, where she learned traditions associated with food and family that bound generations. She graduated from Commerce High School in 1959 and then went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree from Anna Maria College in 1964.
Upon graduating from Anna Maria, she began what was to be her life’s work as an educator in the Yarmouth Public Schools. Donna possessed an incredibly selfless passion and spirit in all that she did, attributes that served her well in having a tremendous amount of impact on countless students over her 42 years in the classroom. Her teaching assignments came full circle: she began as a 5th grade teacher at South Yarmouth Elementary School and moved on to teach 3rd grade at John Simpkins Elementary before retiring in 2007 at the renamed Lawrence MacArthur Elementary school where she began her career.
Beyond her impact in the classroom, Donna was a leader of educators and in the community. She was the President of the Dennis Yarmouth Educators Association for 9 years, the President of the Parents Council for both Mattacheese Middle School and Dennis Yarmouth High School. She also was the driving force behind establishing a girls youth basketball program in Yarmouth and also started and led the D-Y Field Hockey boosters program. Finally, and fittingly, she was recognized on the Who’s Who of America’s Teachers in 2003-2004.
Donna is survived by her husband, John D. (Jack) Chapman, of 50 loving years. Donna and Jack complemented each other in a way that represented true love and loyalty, serving as a model for their family. That family is what truly defines Donna and represents the love and energy she brought to the world. Her spirit will live on as those same Italian traditions and customs that she learned as a young girl she masterfully taught to the next generation. She is also survived by her two children, Jonathan of Annapolis, MD and Kate Chapman of Portland, ME. Additionally, Jonathan’s wife and her daughter in law Kirsten Chapman and the special lights of her life, her grandchildren Reid and Davis Chapman, all of Annapolis. Donna was predeceased by her brother Joseph Montimurro. She is survived by her brother Thomas Montimurro, his wife Patricia and her sister Ann Marie Goyette and her husband Robert. Finally, she is survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the NEA Foundation (https://www.neafoundation.org/donate/) in Donna’s honor. The NEA Foundation supports public school educators all across the United States with important resources to perpetuate the important act of teaching our children, something that would make the lifelong teacher that Donna was smile.
