Bill G. Chapman
| Billy Gene "Bill G." Chapman (Advocate for the | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | October 11, 1928 Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma, USA | ||
| Died | August 26, 2007 (aged 78) Lubbock, Texas Resting place: | ||
| Spouse | Katherine Dutton Chapman (married 1951–2007, his death) Children: | ||
| Religion | Southern Baptist | ||
| Military Service | |||
| Service/branch | United States Air Force | ||
| Years of service | 1954-1969 | ||
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel | ||
Billy Gene Chapman , known as Bill G. Chapman (October 11, 1928 – August 26, 2007), was an advocate for visually impaired persons, principally in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The founder of Vision Loss Technology, Chapman, himself blind, authored in 2001 Coping With Vision Loss: Maximizing What You Can See and Do, with George H. Pollock as the illustrator. Coping with Vision Loss consists of thirty-six chapters, one devoted to macular degeneration.[1] Chapman also wrote various journal articles and supplied aids to enable the blind to function like sighted individuals.[2]
Chapman was born in Chickasha in Grady County in south central Oklahoma to the late Helen and Talford Chapman. He graduated in 1950 from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.[2] In 1954, he completed Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas. Thereafter, he entered the United States Air Force, with service in Louisiana, Labrador, Baffin Island, California, Oregon, Great Britain, and Texas. He was medically retired from the Air Force in 1969, having attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2]
In 1973, then legally blind, Chapman procured his Ph.D. (then Ed.D.) from Texas Tech University in Lubbock in the fields of "Rehabilitation Administration" and "Rehabilitation Counseling". Chapman was a member of Macular Degeneration International, the Council for Citizens with Low Vision, and the Association for Macular Diseases.[2]
In 1951, Chapman married his high school sweetheart, the former Katherine Dutton, in Chickasha. They had three children: David Chapman and wife Jan of Austin, Texas, Melody C. Deaver and husband, Ricky, of San Antonio, and Jane C. Stubblefield and husband Michael of Lewisville, Texas. Chapman died in Lubbock. Services were held there on August 30, 2007, at the Second Baptist Church, of which Chapman was a member. Interment was at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.[2]
References
- ↑ Chapman, Bill. Coping with Macular Degeneration and Coping with Vision Loss: Maximizing what You Can See and Do. Google Books. ISBN 978-0-89793-316-2. Retrieved on February 9, 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bill G. Chapman obituary, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, August 28, 2007.
