Jerry LeVerne Perry Chappell

November 6th, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. Daughter of the late Albert Vernon

Perry and Geraldine Jackson Perry, she was born January 13th, 1940 in

Henderson, North Carolina. Born into a loving, Christian family, she spent her

adult life passing these values on to her children and grandchildren. She

graduated as class President and Valedictorian from Henderson High School.

She subsequently graduated from Duke University in 1962 with degrees in

History and French where she was a class officer, Secretary of the Judicial

Board, member and Vice President of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, member of Kappa

Delta Pi honorary society, and an Angier B. Duke Scholar. She married her high

school and college sweetheart, Bruce A. Chappell on August 3rd,1962. They

went to live in Bermuda, where Bruce was a naval aviator and proceeded to be

blessed with their first child, Bruce Jr. They then moved to Jacksonville, Florida,

where Bruce was a naval pilot with VP-45 flying six month deployments to Adak,

Alaska and Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After completing his naval

service, they made Jacksonville their permanent home where he began his

ongoing 57+ year career with Merrill Lynch. They were subsequently blessed with

two more children Cameron Perry Chappell Walker and Albert Perry Chappell.

A loving mother and wife, she actively pursued volunteer opportunities with

MOSH, the former Jacksonville Children’s Museum, was a sustaining member of

the Jacksonville Junior League, and was a member and past President of The

Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida. She served 12 years on the

Duke University Library Advisory Board and many years on the Board of the

Cathedral Arts Project. She was an accredited Genealogist Researcher by the

National Board for Certification of Genealogists in Washington, D.C., actively

researching for more than 50 years. She spent countless hours researching as a

professional and for personal research, constantly discovering new ancestors.

This research brought her in contact with many historians and writers, which

resulted in numerous memberships in hereditary societies such as The

Daughters of the American Revolution, The Colonial Dames, The Mayflower

Society, Jamestown Society, First Families North Carolina, Magna Carta Society,

Order of the Crown of Charlemagne, and The Americans of Royal Descent. She

enjoyed using her Duke History degree in her research and in sharing a love of

the past and her family’s part in it with her children and grandchildren. An art

lover and collector, she was asked by a group of local artists under the direction

of the late Jean Wagner Troemel to host and show works of well-known Florida

artists. This led to her empty-nest business, Apropos, which consisted of

traveling around Florida and Europe to buy art and then sell it locally. She was a

voracious reader, an avid gardener, and a published author of a children’s book

in both English and French. Her intellectual interests and pursuits were a large

part of her persona, along with her passion in foreign languages and extensive

world travel. However, her family and her strong, quiet, consistent faith were her

main priorities. She was a loving wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, and sister

who lived for others and stressed kindness to others above all things. She

honored the ideals of Southern ladyhood and gentility as her mother and

grandmothers had before her. She was a gentle, humble, loving person of keen

intellect who made others the center of her life. She patiently and courageously

struggled with multiple life-threatening illnesses, maintaining her fortitude and

strength until the end. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Bruce A.

Chappell, her children; Bruce Arnold Chappell Jr. (Christine) of Wilmington, NC;

Cameron Chappell Walker (Craig) and Albert Perry Chappell of Jacksonville, FL

and her sisters, Krista Lassiter and Pam McNeil. She is also survived by her nine

grandchildren; Frances Perry Trask Hooker (Zach), Bruce Arnold Chappell III

(Kendal), Raiford Graham Trask Chappell of Wilmington; Craig Carrington

Walker, Jr, Hunter Chappell Walker (Abigail), Cameron Perry Walker of

Jacksonville; Jackson Pierce Chappell, Parker Bruce Chappell, and Tucker Perry

Chappell of Jacksonville.

A funeral to celebrate Poppy’s life will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church,

4129 Oxford Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32210, on Monday, November 13th, 2023

at 1pm with a reception to follow in Leatherbury Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family

requests donations be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church