Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

November 15, 2018

CHARLOTTE – Phillip Campbell Chapman passed away on November 15, 2018, after a lengthy battle with metastatic kidney cancer. He was 73.

Born on June 11, 1945, at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, he was the son of the late George Wilkes and Ruth Cathey Chapman. He graduated in 1963 from Myers Park High School, where he excelled in wrestling, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from N.C. State University in 1967. Phil began his career with Westinghouse Electric Co., first in Philadelphia and later at the nuclear turbine plant in Charlotte. He married Lillian McGarity Chapman of Charlotte in March 1969. In 1976, he began a 40-year career as a manufacturer’s representative with Piedmont Products Co., retiring as the company’s president in 2016.

Phil will be remembered for his devotion to youth sports. He was instrumental in the building of Founders Field on Randolph Road.  His years coaching girls’ softball and his dedication to the Myers Park Trinity Little League fields was evidenced by the naming of Kiser-Chapman field in his honor.  In June 2018, he was inducted into the Myers Park Trinity Little League Volunteer Hall of Fame. How he loved softball, coaching and helping girls learn to appreciate the game as he did! His love of the game of softball was exceeded only by the love of the girls he coached.

Phil filled his years with meaning and joy. He loved his family and all the seasons he spent coaching and mentoring young softball players. He fell in love with golf and enjoyed every moment of the game and the fellowship it brought. Additionally, he relished time spent at the family’s mountain home in West Jefferson, NC.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Lillian; one son, David, and his wife, Peggy of Charlotte; and one daughter, Mary Woodall (Woody) Chapman Oakey, and her husband, Henry, of Charlottesville, VA. He is survived as well by the six grandchildren who were the lights of his life: Teddy, Martha and Davis Oakey, and Lauren, Matthew and Jack Chapman. Also surviving are his brother, George Wilkes Chapman Jr., and his wife, Mary; brother-in-law Gene W. (Mac) McGarity and his wife, Marchell; and three nephews and two nieces. Phil is survived by beloved cousins who were nearly as close to him as siblings.

Phil grew up at Chalmers ARP Church. After he and Lillian married, they belonged to Providence United Methodist Church and later Myers Park United Methodist Church. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, November 20, at Myers Park United Methodist Church, 1501 Queens Road. The Reverends Bill Roth and Bill Jeffries will lead the service. A reception will follow in the church’s Jubilee Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate gifts to Myers Park Trinity Little League, MPTLL, Attn: Kelly Kozart, PO Box 11556, Charlotte, NC 28220. Please note that your gift is for the benefit of girls’ softball. A gift in Phil’s memory can also be made to Charlotte Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, 7845 Little Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28226, or at www.hpccr/org.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences can be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.