Carol Jeanne “Beanie” Dorlac Chapman

Carol Jeanne “Beanie” Dorlac Chapman died February 24, 2022, surrounded by her loving family at Meadowlark Estates Gracious Retirement Living in Lawrence, Kansas. She was 79.

Carol was born on May 16, 1942, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Charles F. and Dorothy Dorlac (Samuels) and educated in the Catholic schools there, including St. Michael’s Elementary, Ursuline Academy and Webster College, where she played old style half court 3 on 3 girls’ basketball and majored in English.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1964, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Shrewsbury, Missouri, she married Clayton Chapman, with whom she enjoyed a 57-year marriage.

She and Clay moved to Evansville, Indiana, to follow his IBM career and they quickly became fast friends with several other young IBM couples. Carol worked as a librarian until the rules of the time required her to quit when she became pregnant with her first child Chris, followed by daughter Sharon the following year and son Greg two years later. By then they’d moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Carol was part of a group of families with young kids like hers.

In 1976, the family moved to Stamford, Connecticut, and Carol returned to work outside the home at Pitney Bowes, helped direct a grade school musical, and enjoyed outings to West Point, the Berkshires, and several to New York City.

In 1980 the family moved back to St. Louis, closer to Carol’s and Clay’s parents. She took a job in the St. Louis County library and reconnected with a group of high school friends called “The Club” while doing a lot of volunteer work at her own kids’ Catholic high schools.

A few years later they made the last big move to the Kansas City area. She worked for 17 years at Blue Valley North High School in the library, several while her son Greg was attending there, although she noted “he didn’t come to the library unless he forgot his lunch money.” She bonded with fellow librarian Margaret Hansen over the foibles and triumphs of the students and administration.

Finally in the early 2000s, she and Clay retired to Baldwin City, Kansas, where they had 17 wonderful years. Carol’s gift for friendship really shined, as she became president of the library board, and an avid member of a local quilting group, a sewing club, her church’s funeral guild, the Leisure Hour women’s club, the Aqua Friends (a morning water aerobics group), and the senior outings sponsored by the Baldwin City Recreation department. Her kids noted that if you went to the grocery store with Carol you were going to stop four or five times to say “Hi” to a friend of hers.

Carol’s philosophy was “Bloom where you are planted” and that was evident in how she got involved in her community wherever she was. Family and friends describe her as a healer, because you always felt better after talking with her. Those talks included lots of laughs, too; Carol had a quick but always kind sense of humor and she usually prescribed “doing something good for yourself” to balance life’s challenges.
Carol was preceded in death by her parents and son, Greg Chapman.

Along with her husband, Clay, survivors include her children, Chris Chapman and Sharon Chapman; brother, Chuck Dorlac (Lissa Lord); daughter-in law, Kristi Chapman (Greg); Aunt Rosemary “Robie” Miller; sister-in-law, Betty Baumann (Pete); brother-in-law Roger Chapman (Kathy); and numerous cousins and friends.

Memorial contributions may be made in Carol’s name to Interim Hospice or Annunciation Catholic Church and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. April 7 at Annunciation Catholic Church, 740 N. Sixth St. in Baldwin City.