Grace S. Chapin

CHAPIN, Grace Stevenson, age 90 of Maryville, died peacefully Sunday, February 19, 2006. She was born March 7, 1915, in Marion, NC, the daughter of the late George Farrand Chapin and Catherine Gowan Carson. She attended public schools in Knoxville and earned a B.S. Degree in education in 1938 and an M.S. Degree in education in 1945, both from the University of TN. Miss Chapin taught elementary school at Springbrook School in Alcoa from 1938-40 and Perkins School in Knoxville from 1940-42; she served as an instructor of Physical Education for women at East TN State University in 1943. From 1943-58 she served as an Instructor, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville, GA. Grace obtained a Fullbright Professorship at the Women’s College of Baghdad, Iraq, where she served as Director of Physical Education for Women from 1958-59, before returning to GSCW for one year. During her summers from 1934-1960, Miss Chapin was active in the Girl Scouts of America as a camp counselor (1934-45) and as a camp director (1946-60). In September 1960, Grace joined the American Red Cross (ARC) serving as Assistant Director of Supplementary Recreation Activities (SRAO) in Seoul, Korea; as Center Director SRAO, ARC, in Nancy, France; as Recreational Supervisor, ARC, Fort Jackson, Columbia, SC, Fort Gordon, Augusta, GA and U. S. Army Medical Center, Camp Koe, Okinawa, concluding her work with ARC in January 1971 as Recreational Supervisor at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, PA. In June of 1971, Grace joined Homemakers Health Aides Services in Washington, DC as a Homemaker Supervisor; in 1978, she became the agency’s Intake Supervisor. Following her retirement, she remained in Washington for a few years before returning to Knoxville. She was a member and Elder of New Prospect Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. In 1998, Grace moved into the Assisted Living facilities of Asbury Acres (now Asbury Place) in Maryville, TN. In addition to her parents, Miss Chapin was preceded in death by her sister and brother-in-law, Thelma and Horton G. Gangwer, Sr.; her brothers, Farrand and Carson Chapin; her brother and sister-in-law, Marshal P. and Vera Chapin; and her nieces, Catherine Gangwer Grovenstein and Carol Chapin. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Inez Hill Chapin; her nieces, Ethel Gangwer Winner, Mary Sue Gangwer Hayes, and Cathy Chapin Brown; her nephews, William M. Chapin, Stephen R. Chapin, Phillip F. Chapin, Horton G. Gangwer, Jr.; several great nieces and great nephews and great great nieces and great great nephews. She is also sorely missed by her extended family of residents and staff at Asbury Place and a host of friends across the United States and the World. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday in McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Don Grady officiating. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Building Fund, New Prospect Presbyterian Church, 6200 Sevierville Pike, Knoxville, TN 37920; Asbury Place, 2648 Sevierville Road, Maryville, TN 37804; American Red Cross, 300 E. Church Avenue, Maryville, TN 37804; Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2798; or the charitable organization of your choice. McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home, Maryville 982-6812 www.mccammonammonsclick.com