It has come to our attention that we are rapidly losing members of our community, friends and supporters of ACB. In order to honor these people whose lives have impacted us, in large and small ways, we are publishing this column, "Passings." In it, we will include brief obituaries of those who have passed away. See below for the format in which to submit information.
Obituary Format
Please include as much of the following information as possible when submitting material for this column. Submissions must involve dates no more than six months from intended date of publication.
Name (first, last, maiden if appropriate)
City of residence (upon passing)
State/province of residence (upon passing)
Other cities/states/countries of residence (places where other blind people may have known this person)
Occupation
Date of death (day if known, month, year)
Age
ACB affiliation (local/state/special-interest affiliates or national committees)
Richard "Dick" Bailey, 68, of Glendale, Ariz., died peacefully in his home on July 3, 2008. He was born in Orange, N.J. on June 18, 1940, to John and Georgia Bailey. At age 5 Dick moved to Arizona to live with his grandfather. After graduating from the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in 1960, he started working for the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, where he developed X-rays for 35 years. After retirement, Dick spent many hours volunteering at the hospital, Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Phoenix, calling square dances and involving himself in community organizations, especially those which promoted improvements to the blind community.
Dick's main love was music. Through his membership in the LDS church, he was able to express his love for music by becoming a choir director and member of the choir. Over the years Dick held various positions on the board of the Arizona Council of the Blind, including president from 1979 to 1983. He served several terms as president of the Maricopa County Club of the Blind and was in his 19th year as chaplain of AzCB at the time of his passing. He also served several years on the Arizona Governor's Council on Blindness and Visual Impairment.
Dick is survived by his wife of 36 years, Pearl; stepsons Kent (Iris) and John (Cookie); daughter-in-law Lorene, and aunt Cathy. He is also survived by many cousins, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dick was preceded in death by his parents and a stepson, Larry.
Dr. Bill G. Chapman died Aug. 26, 2007 in Lubbock, Tex., at age 78. He was interred at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery with military honors. Bill was born to the late Helen and Talford Chapman on Oct. 11, 1928 in Chickasha, Okla. He graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1950, Central Baptist Theological Seminary in 1954, and Texas Tech University in 1973. Following seminary he entered the U.S. Air Force as a chaplain and served in Louisiana, Labrador, Baffin Island, California, Oregon, England and Texas. He was medically retired in 1969, having attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. Bill entered Texas Tech University as a legally blind student and earned a doctorate in rehabilitation administration and rehabilitation counseling, graduating with high honors. He then founded Vision Loss Technology, serving as a low-vision consultant, role model for visually impaired people and distributor of low-vision products in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. His mission was to enable the partially sighted to function as sighted. He was the author of two books, "Coping with Macular Degeneration" and "Coping with Vision Loss," as well as numerous journal articles. His influence is international in scope.
Bill is survived by his wife Katherine and their three children, David Chapman of Austin, Tex., Melody Deaver of San Antonio, Tex., and Jane Stubblefield of Lewisville, Tex., along with five grandchildren, a sister, Lawana Case of Lincoln, Neb., a brother, Richard Chapman of Yukon, Okla., and two nephews.
Bill was a member of Macular Degeneration International, Council of Citizens with Low Vision International, Association for Macular Diseases and American Council of the Blind.