In Memory
Sharon Carole (Davis) Chapman
March 6, 1935 ~ October 20, 2025
Sharon Carole Chapman, 90, passed away peacefully on October 20, 2025 at Tanglewood Trace, Mishawaka, Indiana. Born on March 6, 1935 in South Bend, Indiana, to Dorthea H. (Winther) and Harry C. Davis, both of whom preceded her in death. On February 22, 1958, Sharon married Jack L. Chapman, who preceded her in death in 1984.
Sharon is survived by three children: Robbin Lynn Chapman in Kissimmee, FL; Kim Marie (Chapman) Leitch of Lakewood, CO; and Eric Davis Chapman of Palm Harbor, FL. She is also survived by three grandchildren: Morgan Delaney Chapman, Quinn Corbett Chapman, and Brooke Riley Chapman, all of Palm Harbor, FL.
Sharon served many roles throughout the years, including PTA vice president at John Marshall Elementary School, when her children were young; Progress Club, third vice president and chairman of the liberal arts department; secretary of Ireland Ridge Swim Club; and secretary at South East Little League.
“I took voice lessons for seventeen years and loved to sing the Big Band era songs,” she says. “When regional bands would come into South Bend, I would often sing with them. Two or three times, one of the band members would call my parents to see if I could tour with them. The answer was always no.” Maybe it was for the best, although tell that to a teenager.
Sharon always enjoyed singing. At Central High School, she was in the choir and selected for the school’s Triple Trio for performances. She later sang at church, but now admits her voice isn’t what it used to be. She might describe her childhood as melodic as she grew up an only child on Medora Street in South Bend. Born on March 6, 1935, Sharon attended Marquette and Muessel schools, before moving to Central.
She was at Central during the first years of that school’s Fabulous Fifties era. “I was so nervous going to Central and decided I was going to participate in everything I could,” she says. Besides the choir, she worked on The Interlude, Central’s yearbook, and was the secretary of her sophomore class among other activities. She also was a big Bears fan and watched them win the basketball state championship during her senior year in 1953.
Sharon did some part-time work for her father, who started the Medical Dental Society in South Bend, and she also did a lot of babysitting. “I worked for 25 cents an hour, and on some days during the summer or on the weekends, I would have two or three jobs in a day,” she recalls. “The veterans were coming home and starting families.”
After graduating from Central, she majored in psychology at William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri—then a two-year school for women. She later returned to her hometown, where she continued her education at IUSB in the field of liberal arts. Sharon also continued to help her father at his business and then worked in the offices of two doctors. Those jobs were at the JMS Building, and that’s where she met her future husband, Jack, who was in the insurance business there. They married on February 22, 1958. “I cried all the way down the aisle, and so did my dad,” she recalls.
Tragically, Jack died at the age of 54 of a heart attack in 1984. Not long after that, Sharon began to work at L.S. Ayres at Scottsdale Mall during the Christmas holiday. “They asked me to stay on, and I worked in the hosiery department and ended up staying with Ayres for 25 years,” she says. Sharon was the first Employee of the Year at Ayres in 1985. When Scottsdale Mall closed, she went to the store at University Park Mall and was in the accessories department until she retired in 2007.
Sharon loved to travel including countries of Denmark (twice), Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Australia, Morocco, New Zealand, Greece, Mexico, Eastern and Western Caribbean, and Luxembourg. She also travelled extensively in the United States, including Alaska. She even experienced a crash landing of a hot-air balloon at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2024. Sharon has done her share of traveling in her retirement years. Yet she still wonders about the trip—or trips—she might have gone on as a young woman had it not been for her parents’ veto.
Sharon also has stayed active at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in South Bend, Indiana—her place of worship since she was a child. She was a member of Altar Guild, secretary of the church council, and Hospitality, Fellowship and Stewardship Committee. Through the church, she has been an active volunteer in the community. She was also a member of the Danish Sisterhood of America since initiation date at age 25.
Sharon also has always enjoyed cooking and is a big fan of Notre Dame women’s basketball. She loved playing bridge, Euchre, and hand and foot.
Sharon belongs to a group of eight friends who go to movies and out to dinner. “We try to get together every couple of weeks,” she says. “I do stay busy, although I don’t do anything earth-shattering.” Some would say she is the salt of the earth, though.
Funeral services will be held at 12:00pm on Saturday, October 25, 2025 at Palmer Funeral Home—Welsheimer North Chapel, 17033 Cleveland Road, South Bend, IN. Graveside services and burial will follow at Southlawn Cemetery, South Bend. Friends may visit with the family from 10:00am-12:00pm on Saturday at the funeral home, prior to the service.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.
10/22/2025 djb
|