Charlane Marie Chapman

HEBRON – Charlane Marie Chapman passed away at her mountaintop home on April 8, 2022 with her loving family by her side. This was just days shy of her late husband’s 15th anniversary of his passing. She was so strong in the face of her sudden colon cancer diagnosis.

Charlane was born in Goshen, N.Y. on the first day of February 1947. Snowstorms were common on so many of her birthdays she reported. Her parents were Charles Edmund Delmonico of New York, and Adele Lane Delmonico of Philadelphia. She attended schooling at Holy Name School, and St. Angela Hall Academy, both in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was very proud and would frequently tell stories from her time when she attended college at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She relished her semester abroad in Italy and touring Europe with her classmate friends. This led to a career as a Advertising Copywriter for Abraham & Straus and Jordan Marsh. Another fond highlight of her career time was teaching beauty classes for Seventeen Magazine. Her love of learning continued into her senior years with taking courses on a diverse range of topics at local Community and Senior Learning Programs.

She married Stephen Gregory Letarte in 1968 until his unfortunate passing from Leukemia in 1972. During the support meetings she met another grieving man named N. Edward “Ed” Chapman whom had lost his wife to leukemia as well. They supported each other and were married in 1973, and she became a mother taking three beautiful children, Ned Chapman, Bob Chapman, and Julie Chapman under her wing. They moved to Maine as Ed bought a cemetery and crematory business in Auburn. They had a son together, Jeremy Charles Chapman, born in Brunswick.

There were many happy memories with Charlane’s mother Adele moving up from New York City to be closer to her, and having Ed’s parents, “Grampy” Norman and “Mimi” Beatrice Chapman, nearby in Harrison. She had fond memories of summers in Harrison at “Mimi’s and Gramp’s” and at the humble Crystal Lake Camp House, and seeing all the neighbors and friends up “on the hill” in Auburn during their daily walks. Charlane and Ed also organized a annual winter family reunion in the form of a family ski week entitled with the acronym of “SILLY” week. Holidays were special for Charlane and often emotional, as she has so much love for others and would try to make things as perfect as possible for them .

Always a caregiver as she loved her family so much, she found it often easier to take care of others than to worry about herself. Charlane loved her calm mornings, a neat household, and her quintessential cup of Red Rose tea. We still have quite a collection of those little figurines that come in the tea boxes to prove it. Forever a lover of nature, she loved to watch birds and butterflies in the warmer seasons, and when it came time for seasons to change, she would bet on the dates of “ice out” at Lake Auburn and later save the first crisp autumn leaf that had turn bright colors and fallen. She would savor moments of time.

Even the stray insect that had made it’s way into the house would be treated with appreciation and taken outside without any harm. Charlane had a love that extended to all life, and a huge heart and strong life force that carried her through her last days.

She is survived by her loving family of daughter Julie Chapman Goodwin and husband Mark of Harrison, son Jeremy Charles Chapman and wife Renee of Hebron, and daughter-in-law Denise Chapman of Augusta; her grandchildren of RJ Chapman of Readfield, Josh Chapman of Fayette, Melissa Merrill of Lewiston, Michael Goodwin of Windsor, Gillian Johnson of Auburn, Lindsay and Kaite Chapman of California, and Annabelle and Samuel Chapman of Hebron.

She had many beloved great-grandchildren and supportive lifetime friends that were so dear to her and loved her great example of generosity and kindness that she demonstrated throughout her life. She wanted to mention her life long childhood friend and her cherished “sister’ Kathleen Mazzucco of Brooklyn, N.Y. To the many friends and family not mentioned, she loved you dearly. We will all miss her so dearly in our lives.

She was predeceased by her parents; first husband Stephen Letarte, second husband N. Edward Chapman; son Ned Chapman, and son Bob Chapman.

A celebration of her life with us will be held on April 30, 2022 at 1 p.m. at Gracelawn Memorial Park, 980 Turner St, Auburn.

Arrangements are in the care of the Hall Funeral Home, 165 Quaker Ridge Road in Casco where condolences and tributes may be shared with Charlane’s family and friends at http://www.hallfuneralhome.net