Lawrence William Chapman "Chappie"
September 20, 1940 ~ August 24, 2026
Born in:
Gardner, MA
Resided in:
Scarborough, ME
SCARBOROUGH—Lawrence William Chapman “Chappie”, 85, of Scarborough, ME passed away peacefully on Monday, August 24, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.
Larry was born in Gardner, MA on September 20, 1940, the son of Irving and Helen (Marsh) Chapman. He attended local schools, graduated from Gardner High School and earned his Associate’s Degree from Worcester Junior College.
Larry served in the U. S Navy from 1964-1966 in the field of Nursing and First Aid and was stationed in Pensacola, FL. Larry continued to serve in the Naval Reserve until 1969.
Larry married Elizabeth “Betsy” (Awdycki) Chapman in 1968, and they had a daughter, Amy. Betsy passed away in 1980.
On June 29, 1985 Larry married Francina LaPlante after moving to Maine a a few months prior.
Chappie worked in various places. He worked as the bookstore manager at Mount Wachusett Community College. His longest employment was at Cole-Haan Shoes, before his retirement. Larry and Francina moved to Zephyrhills, FL in 2000. While in Florida, Larry filled his days driving people back and forth to the airports and to doctor’s appointments. This is a job he thoroughly enjoyed!
Larry and Francina moved back to Maine in 2002, and he worked as a courtesy driver for various local hotels followed by being an assistant in a golf course pro shop.
Larry was an avid reader, particularly of books on transcendentalism, with his favorite author being Henry David Thoreau. He also loved reading non-fiction books, mainly that of history and nature. Another great interest was listening to classical music. His favorite composer was Ludwig Van Beethoven. Larry was a skilled photographer of nature, including lighthouses, birds and flowers. Larry could be found on the local waterfront or at Portland Headlight selling his handmade photographs and bookmarks at his stand “By Larry”.
Larry was predeceased by his parents, his brother Parker Chapman, of Gardner, MA, his sister-in-law Anne Chapman and his first wife Elizabeth.
Chappie is survived by his wife of 41 years Francina M. Chapman, a daughter Amy Turra and her husband, Bruno, of Beverly, MA, a step-daughter Angela Fauth and her husband, Brian, of South Portland, ME, a brother Hugh “Mickey” Chapman, of Gardner, MA, two granddaughters Thileigh Kasprzyk and Aleigh Fauth, both of South Portland, ME, a brother-in-law John Awdycki and his wife, Ann, of Gardner, MA, a sister-in-law Janit DeRice, of Scarborough, ME and several nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held at The Rock Church, 66 Gorham Road, Scarborough, ME on Friday, September 11, from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. A Celebration of Life will also be held for Larry in Massachusetts at Mack Family Funeral Homes in Gardner, MA. Interment will be in the Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 111 Glenallen Street, Winchendon, MA. The Massachusetts celebration will be held at a later date.
The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the Maine Veteran’s Home A Unit in Scarborough for their excellent care and compassion for Larry during his 3 1/2 year stay there.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Maine Veteran’s Home, 290 US Route 1 in Scarborough, ME, The Thoreau Lyceum, now Thoreau Society at ThoreauSociety.org, or the Alzheimer’s Association of Maine.
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I first met Larry in Portsmouth selling photographs he had taken around the coast of ME. I picked a picture of a bench looking out at the water.After talking to him about it, I always saw benches by water as pictures. I got to know him better on future visits and found him so interesting. He was a great reader.I also had a most unforgettable and delicious meal that he prepared for a group of family and friends. ❤️