Nancy died of non-hodgkins lymphoma cancer (follocular, small cleaved cell type). She was exposed during the 1950's to radiation from nuclear testing by the federal government while living in Sevier and Washington counties of southern Utah. This led to childhood pneumonia, thyroid disease as a young woman and in 1984 the "immune system " cancer which took her life.
Nancy was born February 25, 1943, to Lyle Stevens and Leah Hansen of Monroe, Utah.
While on a mission for her church to New York City she met Dennis B. Chapman who was also serving a mission. They were married January 21, 1966 in Salt Lake City and are the parents of Caroline, Robert, Melanie, Richard, Alison, Gregory, Catherine, Lori and Emily. They resided in New Zealand for four years. For 30 years Nancy has been mistress of her beloved Chapman House on Greenfield in Provo, Utah. She and Dennis designed and built the home as a place of beauty and safety for their children.
All of her education was from Utah schools and universities - Utah State University being her favorite. In 1961 she graduated from Uinta High School. She believed beauty could save the world. She admired Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who wrote, "Once you can express yourself you can tell the world what you want from it...all the changes in the world, for good or evil, were first brought about by words. " Nancy believed in education and strongly encouraged her sons and daughters to become educated. She wanted happy marriages, where people really cared for one another. One person should not dominate the other, but both should be equal. She believed in refinement, and that "...it is not bad to look your best...in fact, seeing a pretty woman or good looking man walk down the street, can make your whole day. "
She loved her church and served her community. She was neighborhood chairperson, election judge, environmental activist, and was opposed to war. Her son Gregory is in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. She was honest and expressed her beliefs to her church leaders and to her congressman.
She is survived by her husband Dennis; by her son Robert, his wife Kristin and children: Alekh, Ethan, and Aiden; by her daughter Melanie, her husband Todd and children: Erik, Gavin, and Alexis; by her son Richard and his wife Lori; by her daughter Alison, her husband Ben and children: Duncan and Olivia; by her son Gregory, his wife Dayna and children: Caleb, Maquel, and Sloane; by her daughter Catherine; by her daughter Lori, her husband Corey and children: Byron and Tristan; and by her daughter Emily.
Graveside services will be at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 28, Monroe City Cemetery, Monroe, Utah. Come let us celebrate her life in a memorial service, Saturday, March 29, 2003 at 1 p.m. in the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary chapel, 495 S. State St., Orem, Utah.