Stephen (Steve) Nelson Chapman, 74, dedicated husband, loving father, and cherished “Papa” found eternal rest in the arms of Jesus on November 11, 2024, after a faith-filled journey battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Steve was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 14, 1950, to Jack and LaWanda Chapman. He spent his childhood in Festus, Missouri where, at the age of 13, he met the love of his life, Sharon Lynn Roth. He graduated from St. Pius High School in 1968, where he was a four year football letterman and Student Council President. He and Sharon married on January 14, 1972 in Festus, where they started their family that would eventually include three sons.
Steve attended college at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Working full-time at a series of tough jobs to pay the entirety of his tuition, books, and housing expenses, Steve persevered through hard work and determination and earned his degree in business administration in 1972. After graduation he began his career in public accounting as a CPA at Boyd, Franz & Stephans (where he would meet best friend, Rick Blalock), later at Ernst & Whinney, and then as a finance and accounting executive for various global firms based in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City. Steve’s career required frequent travel around the world, including Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that afforded him the opportunity to tour some of his “bucket list” travel destinations like Jerusalem, Amman and Beijing. Steve retired from full-time work in 2016, but continued to work seasonally as a tax consultant at a local firm in Boerne, Texas.
Although Steve was deeply committed to his career, he always made time for family. Steve enjoyed traveling and would indulge in frequent family trips to Breckenridge, Banff, Lake Hamilton, and Gulf Shores. Steve and Sharon took trips around the world, including a particularly special 25th anniversary trip to Paris. Steve loved sports and used that time to strengthen his bond with his sons. He served as a coach for many of his sons’ teams and was a huge supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals and the University of Texas Longhorns. Steve made many fall trips up to Austin with family and friends to watch his beloved Longhorns and was able to experience three epic trips to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. In the summer, Steve’s passion was boating and relaxing on the water. He taught his sons, friends, and extended family how to waterski while spending just about every Saturday during the summer months pulling skiers until sunset up on the quiet north end of Lake Travis.
Steve was dedicated to supporting and investing in his children’s education. His biggest dream was to see his sons graduate with advanced degrees to provide better career opportunities to support their own families. Through Steve’s guidance and sacrifice, each of his sons attended Catholic primary and secondary schools, and all three of them graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and became licensed professionals, which made Steve enormously proud.
Holidays without Steve won’t be the same. At Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, Steve proudly led the family in heartfelt prayer, giving praise to the Lord for our blessings, asking for guidance as we live our lives, and thanking Jesus for his promise of eternal life. We are thankful to have witnessed his beautiful thoughts expressed in family speeches, prayers, and many private letters to his sons over the years.
Steve was predeceased by his loving parents Jack and LaWanda Chapman, his sister Brenda, his brother Tracy, his niece Angela Felgate, and his mother and father-in-law Oscar and Mary Lou Roth. He is survived by his devoted wife Sharon Lynn (Roth) Chapman; sons Matthew Ryan (Brandy), Aaron Neil (Heather), Andrew Stephen and his soulmate, Cassie Alford; grandchildren Benjamin, Ella, Jack, Grant; a beloved grand-doodle, Auri, who will miss his cherished car rides with Papa to McDonald’s. He is also survived by six siblings-in-law whom he loved like his own siblings, five nieces, six nephews, and numerous life-long friends and cousins.
Throughout his entire life, Steve demonstrated his optimism, love for others, and trust in God. When faced with a cancer diagnosis Steve remained hopeful and steadfast in his faith. He never showed any fear, bitterness, or concern for anything other than his loved ones. When Steve began his journey last June to fight against difficult odds, he asked his entire family to “do the impossible” - to not worry. He asked us to place all our faith in God and live each day with gratitude, joy, and love for each other. As we all move forward with our grief, we will carry his beautiful message for us and we will fully trust in God’s enduring love for us all, live a life full of love and laughter, and in the end, rest knowing that Christ Jesus is our Lord and savior. We know he is rejoicing with the angels and saints knowing that what he believed all along is true. We live knowing we will all join Steve in God’s time.
A celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, November 19 from 5-7 p.m. at Ebensberger-Fisher in Boerne. The celebration will begin with a prayer and blessing followed by shared memories of Steve. Funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, November 20, at 2 p.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Boerne, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to PANCAN, Muddy Paws, or the Boerne Animal Shelter.
