Robert Ellwood Chapman
Dad was born Robert Ellwood Chapman, on January 24, 1946, in Esmond, Rhode Island.
In 1953, he relocated to California with his father, Ellwood Chester Chapman, stepmother, Kathryn Mae Chapman (Floyd) and brother, Dennis Chapman. In 1958, he and his family moved to Saudi Arabia where he attended St. Joseph’s School in Dhahran, before residing in Ethiopia.
He returned to California and graduated from West High School in Florence California, in 1964. He attended Trinidad State College, in Trinidad, Colorado, where he received his bachelor’s degree in electronics.
After, he moved back to Esmond, Rhode Island, where he worked at Mine Safety, and met Alicja Chapman (Trybalski). Dad married Mom on April 24, 1971, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and established a home in New Hampshire. They welcomed their first child in 1972, Melissa Chapman, and moved back to Esmond, Rhode Island where their second daughter was born in 1976.
In 1978, Bob moved his family to Warwick, Rhode Island where he was employed as a data processor at Speidel Textron, in Providence, Rhode Island. Later, in 1987, he began his career as a Systems Programmer with Lifespan Corporation – Rhode Island Hospital until his early retirement in 2014, at 68 years old. Upon retiring, he moved with his wife to Martinsville, Virginia, to be closer to his only grandchild, Wayne Chapman.
He was a member of Saint Kevin's Catholic Church, in Warwick, Rhode Island until moving to Martinsville, Virginia. He became a member of the Knights of Columbus, at Saint Joseph's Catholic Church.
He was an active member of the ARA and the NRA, and an instructor of gun safety at the Warwick Range Activity Committee, in Warwick, Rhode Island.
He is predeceased by his wife, Alicja Anna (Trybalski) Chapman; father, Ellwood Chester Chapman; birth mother, Helen Francis (Snell) Carr; his stepmother, Kathryn Mae Chapman (Floyd); and his brothers, Dennis Chapman, Glenn Carr, and Bradley Carr.
Also surviving are an estranged brother, Richard Carr; oldest daughter, Melissa Chapman and her husband, Matt Andrews; grandson, Wayne Chapman, of Gretna VA; youngest daughter, Celina Allen of Martinsville, Virginia; a sister-in-law in Connecticut; three nieces; one nephew; many cousins in Rhode Island; and his grandpets, Lilly, Jax, Loki and Diesel.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 12:00 P.M. at Norris Funeral Services - Martinsville, Virginia. Burial will be held at 2:00 P.M. at Roselawn Burial Park in Martinsville, VA. Following the burial, there will be a luncheon held at St. Joseph Catholic Church Event Hall downstairs.
Norris Funeral Services, Inc. & Crematory is serving the Chapman family. Online condolences can be made at www.norrisfuneral.com.
