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In Memory of . . .
Shannon (Fairchild) Chapman
Died at age 74, of Boise, ID
OBITUARY
5/11/1949 — 8/9/2018
January 4, 1949 - May 6, 2023 (74 years old)
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Shannon Chapman (Boise, Idaho), who passed away on May 6, 2023, at the age of 74, leaving to mourn family and friends. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family..
She was predeceased by : her close friend Lawrence. She is survived by : her sister Janine (Shannon); her husband Lawrence Chapman; and her children, Vaun, Misty, Chelle, Coy, Camie and Ashton.
Shannon Chapman was born on January 4th, smack dab in the middle of the blizzard of 1949 in Oakley, Idaho. Interestingly, she was the very last baby born in the birth center in Oakley. She was the 2nd of 4 girls born to Floyd Fairchild and LaRae Butler. Her older sister Janine was not quite two years older than Shannon, and they shared a close bond. As an infant, Shannon was diagnosed with cancer on her back and went through many painful radiation treatments to cure her of the cancer. It was assumed as a young child that due to this radiation she would never have children, which thankfully was proven not to be the case.
When Shannon was in primary school, the family moved to Brownlee, Idaho where her father worked on the Brownlee Dam, after which they returned to Oakley. Shannon's sister Lynn was born while they lived in Brownlee, and her youngest sister RaNae was born in Burley, Idaho. Shannon loved being a sister and shared a bond with hers that was obvious and pure. In 1961, the family moved again, this time to Moscow, Idaho where Shannon attended and graduated high school. Shannon was a drummer in the high school marching band, pep band, and orchestra and was also a member of the drill team. As a junior, she participated in the local Junior Miss scholarship program and was awarded scholarships for college. She graduated high school in 1967.
After high school, Shannon moved to Spokane, Washington and attended Kinman Business University. This is where she met the love of her life, Lawrence Chapman. They met at a church dance where Shannon needed a ride home and Lawrence had a car. Whenever Lawrence introduced Shannon to someone new, he always introduced her as Miss Fairchild! As if to indicate that she was the princess of the land. Lawrence was stationed in Spokane with the Air Force and shortly after they started dating Lawrence was deployed to Guam. On their date prior to his departure, Lawrence said to Shannon that if they still felt the same way when he returned, 'then we could', and acted as if to slide a ring on Shannon's finger. After that, Shannon started telling everyone they were engaged. After graduation from university, she moved to Ridgecrest, CA with her family while she waited for Lawrence to return from Guam. Shortly after his return, Shannon was sealed to Lawrence for time and all eternity on October 9, 1968, in the Logan, Utah temple. Lawrence finished his enlistment in Spokane where they lived as newlyweds for a short time before they moved to West Virginia to be close to Lawrence's family and jobs were available. Shannon worked in real estate, and this is where they started their family. The four oldest of their six children were born here: Vaun, Misty, Chelle and Coy. While they were in West Virginia Shannon formed deep bonds with her very large extended family. In 1979 after 10 years in West Virginia, Shannon told Lawrence it was her turn and that she wanted to move closer to her family back in Idaho. So, they loaded up their belongings in a trailer, put the kids in the truck and headed west, in the middle of the winter through treacherous snowstorms and ice. They arrived in Boise on January 28, 1979. The plan was to eventually move elsewhere in the Midwest, but they planted roots in Boise and never left. The youngest two children were born here: Camie and Ashton.
Shannon had many roles in her life; daughter, sister, wife, friend, breadwinner; but the roles she enjoyed most and took the most pride in were mother and grandmother. Shannon was the biggest cheerleader for her children and grandchildren. Throughout their lives, there were not many events, performances, competitions, recitals or celebrations that Shannon missed. She was so very proud of every single one of their accomplishments. She was there in the sunshine, in the rain or the snow or the dark of night cheering on her legacy. She dedicated her life to showing up. And if Shannon showed up to your event, you also went for ice cream after. It was a tradition she started with her children, and it carried on throughout the years. Shannon had 6 children, 16 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and one great-grandchild on the way at the time of her passing. And she loved with exuberance and joy each and every one of them.
Shannon spent most of her career working for Boise State University doing many different accounting functions. Prior to working at BSU though, she worked in realty, held various positions with CPA firms, and together with Lawrence, they owned a couple of businesses over the years. One of which was Woody's Goodies. Woody's Goodies was a dream for Lawrence, and Shannon was always very supportive of his "crazy ideas". At Woody's you could get one of 27 different stuffed baked potatoes, pepperoni rolls, giant cookies, cakes and all kinds of other "goodies". It did well for a period of time, especially where it was located in a mall setting just outside of a bowling alley. They offered delivery to employees within the mall. Orders were created and then one or more of the children if they were there to help loaded orders up in a wagon and delivered to the various stores inside the marketplace. Shannon also had a side business doing general bookkeeping and tax filing for small businesses.
As mentioned previously, Shannon spent most of her professional career at Boise State University. After more than 25 years with BSU, Shannon retired and enrolled in driving school where she graduated at the top of her class with her CDL license. From here, she became a long-haul team truck driver with her love Lawrence, who forever suffered with wanderlust. They saw many exciting places during their time on the road together. In her lifetime, Shannon visited all 50 of the United States as well as Mexico and Canada. Eventually, she hung up her driver's cap and went back to work at CWI until she retired for good to go on the road once again, but this time for pleasure. They sold their long-time family home and bought an RV.
They spent their time travelling the United States, going wherever, whenever they pleased. They visited with family and friends, met new friends and enjoyed their time together. In 2020, the Chapmans purchased some land in Sand Hollow, Idaho, just outside of Caldwell. This is where they planted their final roots and enjoyed their remaining time together. Lawrence was called home in the fall of 2020.
Outside of work and family, Shannon loved serving her community through church callings, where as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, she served many roles, but most fondly as a primary teacher. Together Lawrence and Shannon taught the primary children, and they formed lifelong bonds with the children they taught. Shannon also had a love for genealogy and spent many hours researching and recording family history. Shannon loved the gospel and shared her faith with whomever would listen.
Shannon and Lawrence also shared a love for square dancing and spent many years going on dates to the local square dance halls. They formed many lifelong friendships through their love of dance together and went on many, many adventures with the square dance communities.
Shannon was often described as loving, caring, kind, and sweet; And a really, really great cook! Sweet is the word most often associated with her. All who knew her felt her kindness. She never had a bad word to say about anyone and was always the first to help when she could, usually in the form of food. One time they were holding an auction fundraiser at BSU and Shannon's contribution was a "Homemade Mexican meal for 4". Her contribution brought in some pretty good dough. Shannon wasn't Mexican, but boy could she cook some good Mexican food! Her enchiladas were often requested for birthdays and special events. She wasn't professionally trained in the kitchen, but she could take whatever was available and make a meal out of it. And not just a meal, but a tasty, enjoyable one.
Though she slowed down quite a bit in her later years, they were spent caring for her youngest grandchildren who brought her great joy. She found herself in service to the very end, because anyone that knew Shannon knew that not being in service went against every fiber of her being. Though to the outside world her departure felt quite sudden, she spent years quietly fighting a battle with her body and finally determined that she was tired of being sick and tired. She has reunited with many loved ones that have gone before and we know she is truly happy to once again be with her love and partner, Lawrence. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Services to honor Shannon's life will be held at the Middleton, Idaho Stake Center, 23644 Old Hwy 30, Caldwell, Idaho 83605. A viewing will begin at 10:00 am with funeral services following at 11:00. There will not be a graveside service at this time as she will be interned later at the Idaho State Veteran's Cemetery in Boise Idaho (10100 N Horseshoe Bend Rd, Boise, ID 83714). She will be laid to rest alongside Lawrence.