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ROCKLAND - Eleanor Norma Chapman, 90, died peacefully at her home during the early morning hours of Monday, March 24, 2014.
Born in Port Clyde, on November 11,1923, Eleanor was the second eldest daughter of Charles B. and Charlena Wilson Tracy. Educated in Rockland schools, she was a graduate of Rockland High School's Class of 1943.
While attending a dance in the Tower Room at Rockland Recreation Center, Eleanor met Lawrence W. Chapman. That one moment in time, sparked an enduring, unwavering love and devoted commitment to each other that spanned over 64 years of marriage and partnership.
Eleanor and Lawrence were engaged on January 4, 1944. They were married at the Thomaston Baptist Church parsonage on November 6, 1945 while Lawrence was home on a short shore leave from the US Navy during WWII. After her husband Lawrence returned to duty in the South Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Hancock, Eleanor continued her part in the War effort at home as a clerk with the Office of Price & Rationing Administration. When the war ended, Eleanor and Lawrence joined their hands and their hearts together and began their family.
They made their first home on Gleason Street in Thomaston and built their camp at Hosmer Pond. In 1958, they bought the Creighton House on Main Street. In 1967, they purchased a home on Rockland’s Masonic Street, where they lived for the rest of their lives.
Eleanor was a loving, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She happily anticipated the birth and the growth of each and every one of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She lavished them all with her love and her time. Everyday spent with Grammy was special, every sleepover, an event not to be missed.
Her given talents were many and she used them all in so many ways. She was a natural born caregiver, teacher and nurse. She was a wonderful cook, an accomplished seamstress, who could sew anything from tatting a handkerchief to sewing prom dresses and wedding gowns for her daughters. She loved to knit, spending hours at work on sweaters, hats, scarfs and mittens. She shared her father's love of gardening, both of vegetables and flowers, which lasted her entire lifetime. She had a quick mind for bookkeeping and numbers. She liked the challenge of revitalizing old things to their former glory or finding new ways to revive them into usefulness. She enjoyed music, especially Harry James and Glenn Miller. She had a lifelong love of books and literature; and when her eyesight began to fail she turned to audio books and loved to have family members read to her. Eleanor left an indelible mark on each life that she touched and on each heart that she loved.
Eleanor was pre-deceased by her beloved husband Lawrence W. Chapman; and by her sisters, Lois C. Tracy Talbot and Evelyn M. Tracy Munsey.
Eleanor is survived by three daughters, Paula Maxcy and her husband Charles, Deborah Gagne all of Warren, Belinda Chapman of South Thomaston; two sisters, Marion E. Tracy King of Gloucester, MA, Anne Tracy Bray and her husband Maynard of Brooklin; seven grandchildren, Steven Maxcy and his wife Deborah of Saco, Darren Maxcy and his wife Kimberly of Bristol, Michelle DeBlois of Turner, Kathryn LaRiviere and her husband Joseph of Lewiston, Jason Cook and his companion Nan Kosoongnoen of Corona, CA, Jeremy Cook and his wife Tanya Panichpakdee of Long Beach, CA, Stephanie Cook of South Thomaston; twelve great-grandchildren, Lydia and Drew Maxcy of Saco, Kalob and his wife Angelica of Virginia, Katlyn Eaton of Florida, Karidene Eaton of Germany, Barrett and Dennison Maxcy of Bristol, Kaitlyn and Hannah DeBlois of Turner, Connor LaRiviere of Lewiston, Nadia Cook-Ames of South Thomaston, Boden Cook of California; two great-great grandchildren, Juliana and Ricky Eaton of Virginia; as well as many nieces and nephews and extended family; kittens Sultan and Titchaba, and parrot Poko.
A private graveside service, for Lawrence and Eleanor, will be held in the Spring, at the Village Cemetery in Thomaston with a celebration of life, following, at the family home on Masonic Street.
Memorial donations may be made to The Pope Memorial Humane Society of Knox County, P.O. Box 1294, Rockland, ME 04841, or to Kno-Wal-Lin Homecare & Hospice, 22 White Street, Rockland, ME 04841. Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland. To share a memory or condolence with Eleanor’s family, please visit her Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.