Douglas William Chapman

Douglas William Chapman, 62, of Fort Wayne, passed away on June 29, 2020, after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. He was born on October 13, 1957, in Cleveland, Ohio, and was the oldest child of the late William Donald Chapman and Ellen Merrilyn (Galehouse) Chapman. He spent his childhood years in Ohio before he and his family relocated to Indianapolis, where he graduated from Pike High School. He decided to become a Purdue University Boilermaker and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science in 1979. He would meet his eventual wife and love of his life, Andrea, at Purdue. Even after he accepted his first post grad job in Indianapolis, he would drive the two-hour round trip every weekend to visit her while she finished her last two years of schooling. They married on June 27, 1981, in Huntington. Always an innovator, Doug decided to pursue a career in IT even after one of his college professors told him he would never make a living working with computers. He would formulate a career spanning 41 years as a computer engineer, working for companies such as Detroit Diesel Allison, Raytheon, National Government Services, Cardinal Health, and most recently Valassis. He was a subject matter expert in his field, and his colleagues considered him to be a dependable, personable, and consummate professional. One colleague noted, “If Douglas promised something, he always managed to deliver, no matter the obstacles.” Above everything else, Doug’s proudest accomplishment in life was his family. He was a loving husband to his wife and a devoted father to his twin daughters. His attention to detail while planning summer vacations and making slideshows and playlists for major life events ensured that every moment was special. He also never missed an opportunity to be an involved parent, taking pride in coaching his daughters' basketball team and traveling across the Midwest as a show choir stage parent. He was also Mr. Fix It and could quickly solve any issue with math homework, computers, and cars. Doug and Andrea were truly each other’s best friend and looked for every opportunity to be together. Doug also believed that life was meant to be lived and received joy from even the simplest things. He loved visiting record stores to add to his impressive vinyl collection, attending rock concerts with his wife, and taking road trips. He also could formulate the perfect punchline for any situation and could make even the most serious person laugh. In addition to his wife of 39 years, Andrea (Dwornicki) Chapman; he is survived by his daughters, Blythe (David) Battisti and Paige Chapman; siblings, Anita (Mark) Wojda, Donald Chapman, Elizabeth (Stephen) Berry, and Matthew Chapman; as well as several nieces and nephews. Calling will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8pm on Monday, July 6, 2020, at D.O. McComb and Sons Pine Valley Park Funeral Home, 1320 East Dupont Road, Fort Wayne. A private family service will be held on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at 10am, with viewing held one hour prior. Burial will be in Lindenwood Cemetery. Memorial donations may be directed to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (www.pancan.org). As a kidney transplant recipient, another way to honor Doug is to register to become an organ donor. We will be forever indebted with gratitude to the family who chose to give him that gift of life 18 years ago.