Nancy Lanphier Chapin

She believed bacon grease flavored all cooking and a pot of coffee was a single serving. She loved a nightly cocktail or two and reluctantly gave up cigarettes after decades of investing in the pleasure. She hated coconut as much as she hated snakes. She was not fond of cats, but always had a dog and a horse or more nearby. She loved her garden, making raspberry jam and giving away produce to her friends. She never wore sunscreen, only grudgingly used a seat belt after it became the law and miraculously could count her speeding tickets on just one hand.

Nancy Lanphier Chapin died August 7, 2020 at her home in Chatham Illinois. Born on April 19, 1938 in London, England to Robert Carr and Mary Catherine Edmands Lanphier, Jr., she spent all but a few years of her life in Sangamon County, Illinois and the whole of her adult life at the farm Windridge in Chatham.

Nancy liked organizing and directing people, making lists of chores, planning social events and family gatherings. She generously shared her opinions and was confident in her assessments. One community icon warmly identified her as sometimes “prickly”. She liked getting things done and was commanding right up until the last hour of her life. Passionate about community service, philanthropy, education and history, she championed local history initiatives in the community and at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS). Go check out the Sangamon Experience at UIS!

Growing up in the city of Springfield, Nancy was a horse crazy kid much to the dismay of her parents. Her grandmother gave her a horse for her 12th birthday which she kept at a boarding barn near Washington Park. She rode “Sunnyboy” all over Washington Park often hoping to meet up with the twenty something bachelor who rode a fancy high stepping horse. Everyone can imagine she thought Charles “Chick” Chapin was quite dashing. They married right after her 20th birthday and within a few years were living at Windridge with horses, children, dog, cats and the goat Snoopy.

She was adamant her children and nephews would not grow up to be “sissy city kids” and made sure they knew how to prepare a horse or cow for show, mow with a tractor, use a chainsaw and shoot a gun. Mostly, they were expected to work and finish the tasks she assigned from The List written on legal sized paper. She was especially relieved when her daughter Sally moved back to Chatham these last few years to help her with the everlasting to do list of living. Of course, she left a list on her computer for “after death”.

For many years Windridge was a hub of horse activity, hosting clinics, camps and the Sangamon Valley Pony Club. Nancy and Chick organized nationally sanctioned equestrian competitions for decades and officiated at competitions all over the country. She was an official scorer in the equestrian sport of eventing at World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Nancy loved new technology, math, spreadsheets and taking tests. She always had the newest computer and the latest techie gadgets. She had extensive spreadsheets on farm business, financial records, and anything that could be tracked or quantified. In school, she reportedly shocked her high school teachers by scoring perfectly on the SATs. She was awarded a masters degree in psychology from UIS/Sangamon State University after spending just one year at Smith College playing a lot of card games. Who knew you could take a test and go straight to graduate school?

Nancy was a member emeritus of the Anti-Rust Club, a women’s literary club in Springfield. She also held leadership positions in multiple community organizations.

She was married 57 years to Charles Armstrong Chapin. He died in 2015. She was also predeceased by her parents and her sister Jeanne Lanphier Lawrence. She is survived by her children Anne E. Chapin (Curtis Peterson), Charlottesville, VA, William L. Chapin (Tamara), Redwood City CA, and Sarah A. Chapin, Chatham IL, granddaughter Annika “Nika” Chapin as well as siblings Robert Carr Lanphier III (Glen Arbor, MI) and Mary Lanphier Collins (Roger) Santa Fe, NM and many loved nieces and nephews.

Nancy fervently wished to have family and friends gather for a celebration of her life at Windridge at a time when people are able to hug. The Chapin family is grateful for the compassionate care and diligence of Dr. Mary Saunders and Dr. Nora MacZura and her excellent team as well as the attentive caretakers from Memorial Home Hospice and Home Instead. Memorial contributions can be made to the Sangamon Experience at UIS or a charity of your choice.

The family is being served by Boardman-Smith Funeral Home, 800 S. Grand Ave. West, Springfield.