Barbara Ann Chapman

Barbara Chapman, 77, passed May 7, 2026, after a protracted battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The second child of Edman and Betty (Boehm) Chapman, she grew up in Mission, Kansas; attended the University of Kansas and graduated with a teaching certificate in elementary education.

Barb, as she was known to her three siblings and friends, worked in a variety of jobs before landing with her brother at Pro Star Sports for a dozen years. She later moved to Gateway Computers in Kansas City where her indomitable spirit and friendly nature led her to become the top sales associate for the company. Following her time with Gateway, Barb worked several years for the Kansas City Public Schools assisting with their Youth Friends mentoring program. After retiring, Barb continued mentoring inner city grade school students as a Lead to Read volunteer, an activity she enjoyed until the disease that took her began to take hold.

When a favored aunt was bilked of her retirement income, she and her sister, Janet, worked tirelessly to rally family to support their aunt and then to see that justice was served. Ultimately, they recovered enough funds to sustain the aunt until her death.

As adults, Barb and her family spent many summer vacations at Meeker Park, a rustic, family-owned Colorado retreat bordering Rocky Mountain National Park. She typically accompanied her father on these trips following her mother’s passing. Both avid hikers, Barb and Ed trekked every trail in and around the park—and keeping up with them was always a challenge for the tribe. She also channeled her mother’s love of plants into a showcase garden of constantly evolving beauty. Cooking and baking were additional skills she mastered at the hands of her mother.

Per her wishes her body was donated to the University of Kansas Medical School. Eventually her ashes will be spread in the mountains she loved, joining those of her parents. She is survived by her sister Janet Chapman of Lawrence, KS, who served as her primary caregiver during much of her illness; by her brother James Chapman and her sister-in-law, Linda Gourley of Mission, KS and her brother Andy Chapman and his wife Susan Taylor of South Salem, NY, along with three nieces and two nephews, two great-nieces and a great-nephew. Donations in her honor can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org.