Richard “Dick” Lewis Chapin
May 2, 1932 ~ August 24, 2015
Dick was born Richard Lewis Chapin on May 2, 1932 in Tacoma WA, to Francis and Cecelia Chapin.
Dick passed away peacefully at the Evergreen Hospice Center in Kirkland, WA on August 24, 2015.
Dick joined the US Navy in 1950, at the age of 17. He spent much of that time on the USS Bellatrix as a Deckhand, serving during the Korean Conflict. The USS Bellatrix was an Attack Class cargo ship. Although he enjoyed his time in the Navy, he choose not to re-enlist as he wanted to get married and start a 
family. Dick was discharged from the Navy in July of 1954.
Dick met his wife, Shirley M. Trawick (Kemmet) in the fall of 1955 and married her on June 2, 1956. Shirley had a young son (Edwin) who was 15 months old at that time, so Dick got his wife and started his family on the same day. Dick and Shirley had 5 more children, Ronald Lewis (Celeste), Robert Alan (Bonnie), Joseph Scott, Jeffrey Wayne, and Deborah 
Marie during the next 6 years. It was very important to Dick that Shirley was able to stay home with the kids, even though that meant he needed to work hard to take care of them. Dick was a very selfless man, always thinking of his family first.
Dick’s wife Shirley passed away on February 7, 1981, just shy of their 25th wedding anniversary. Dick continued to raise and guide his children after her passing. Besides his children, Dick enjoyed spending times with his 9 grandchildren as well as his 6 great grandchildren. Family time was important to him and he loved all the various gatherings for holidays, birthdays, etc. 
Dick was a lifelong Teamster member, having worked at Seattle City Light, Gais Bakery, Seattle Times, and then spending almost 25 years at the Coca-Cola plant in Bellevue Washington. He retired from Coke in 1990.
Dick was an avid golfer, until the age of 70. He enjoyed his 3 week long summer vacations with his brothers golfing and salmon fishing out of Tokeland, WA. Dick also enjoyed spending his mornings at the various north end (Snohomish and Skagit counties) casinos. He always kept himself busy after retiring. He continued to watch the Mariners, even during the many painful years (including this one).
A VA Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, September 1st, at 2:00. The service will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery. 18600 SE 240th St Kent, WA 98042. The services start promptly so it is best to be in the car line by 1:45 PM. There will be a Celebration of Dick’s Life immediately following the funeral services, at Crones Place – Tahoma Hall, 23806 190th Ave SE. Kent, WA.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to suggest that you make a donation to the Evergreen Hospice Center, In Memory of Richard Chapin, by calling 425-899-1990 or by going to the website:
5 Responses to “Richard “Dick” Lewis Chapin”
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Pop, I know that you are not reading this as you could never master turning on a computer, if they even have them there, but I just wanted to add how much we all love you and thank you for everything you did for us our entire lives. We are the luckiest kids ever to have had you as our Dad. All of our love. ~Scott
Gone but not forgotten….rest easy.
Rest easy Pop, your job is done. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part in your life.
~God Bless
We will miss you brother you did a wonderful job with your family. Rest in peace. Love you.
I’ll always remember not being able to get away with much growing up. You always said you and your brothers did the same things. Mom grew up with sisters only, and you told her not to worry. Willie Nelson said it best, “We’re not wrong, we’re just different.” Thank you dad. We love you!