Minnie Chapman

July 19, 2007

Minnie L. Chapman, 64, of 31 Charles St., went to be with the Lord at 6:13 P.M. Monday (July 16, 2007) in her home. She was born Jan. 26, 1943 in Decatur, Ala., the daughter of David and Bernice Settle Blackburn. A 1960 graduate of Jamestown High School, she also graduated from Jamestown Business College in 1962 and from Jamestown Community College in 1981. Prior to retiring in 2001, she had been employed for 24 years as a customer service representative at MRC Bearings. In earlier years she had worked at J.C. Penney, Loblaws, and the Town Gardens, all in Buffalo. She was a member of Blackwell Chapel, A.M.E. Zion Church, where she had served as a deaconess, and as a member of the Stewardess Board and the Missionary Society. She was a former member of the Martha Eastern Star, the Chautauqua Temple Elks, and had done volunteer work for the Resource Center, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Literacy Volunteers. She enjoyed Crocheting, needlepoint, and sewing. Minnie was a survivor of multiple sclerosis for the past 18 years. She was able to stay in her own home, and was active and out-going in her community due to the dedication of many students trained by the Cassadaga Job Corps Center Academy. She will be greatly missed by all her family and friends, but especially by her immediate care-givers: Magou Badiallo Dibassy, Magdalina Jacques, and Bryant McCoy, along with all their fellow students who allowed her to stay in her home: Dwayne, Melissa, Ada, Daine, Moses, Christopher, David, John, and Kanisha, as well as the other Job Corps students whom she came to know and love and to whom she opened her heart and home. Surviving are a son, Dennis (Elizabeth) White of Youngstown, Oh.; a brother, David (Donna) Blackburn of Chicago, Ill.; a sister, Marla (Walter) Reid of Chicago, Ill.; and aunt, Emma (late Alvie) Avery of Jamestown; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins, including: George McCargo (who was also a care-giver), Herb (Linda) White, Jeff White, Glenda (Steven) Davis, Burnetta (Calvin) Leeper, Margretta Watkins, William (Sabrina) Avery, Reggie, Alvie, and Adolph Avery, Dorothy (David) Chapman, and Michael, Rhiannon, Avery, Miranda, Caden, Elana, and Isaac White. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph ?Chappy? Chapman, whom she married Feb. 20, 1965, and who died in 1989; a son, David White; an aunt, Minnie White, and by two uncles, Howard and George Settle. The funeral will be at 1:30 P.M. Friday in Blackwell Chapel, A.M.E. Zion Church. The Rev. Annette Hood, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in Sunset Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Thursday in Powers, Present & Sixbey Funeral Home. Email condolences may be sent by visiting the website www.presentsixbeyfuneral.com. Memorials may be made to the Chautauqua Region Multiple Sclerosis Society, PO Box 714, Jamestown, N.Y. 14702-0714.