Dana Marie Chapman (Dunn) passed away at home on Monday, August 30, 2021, 19 months after being diagnosed with ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Dana was born on February 11, 1964, to the Reverend Robert and Gaye Dunn in Seattle, WA. As the daughter of a preacher, her childhood was spent in several locations around the Pacific Northwest including Burien, West Seattle, Vancouver, BC, Everett, Hoquiam, Redmond, and Kirkland. She was graduated from Lake Washington High School in 1982. Following graduation, she worked for Motor's Insurance and later, General Motors Acceptance Corporation in Bellevue.
In July of 1988, she met her husband, Oliver Chapman on a blind date arranged by her coworker and Oliver's dear friend, Eleanor Margaret Ely. Oliver and Dana were married on August 5, 1989 in Kirkland. They lived in Mt. Vernon until moving to Chapman Road on Harstine Island in 1999 where they built a house and made it a home.
Dana enjoyed being a homemaker and homeschooling her children. As her 6 children grew older, Dana became active for many years in Christian mission work, including a mission trip to Malawi, Africa to sew school uniforms for AIDs orphans. She was also active with youth missions through the Bridge Community Church. Dana also enjoyed traveling with her family to Washington, DC, Hawaii, and California. She immersed herself in moving her daughter to college in Arizona and son to college in Wyoming.
Dana was an amazing gardener, enjoying both decorative and vegetable gardens. She very much enjoyed planning and hosting parties for family and friends. Each gathering ended with hours of card games, usually including International Rummy. Several notebooks were accumulated over the years tallying game scores.
Since 2005, many in Mason County would see her driving her red Mini Cooper with its personalized license plate, "MININME."
She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Oliver Alan Chapman, P.E., her Father, the Reverend Robert Dunn, her brother Duane Dunn, her sisters Dede Moore and Mary Basta, as well as her children Mitchell, William, Margaret, Benjamin, Franklin, Elizabeth, 2 granddaughters and 2 grandsons.
A funeral service will be held at the Bridge Community Church on Harstine Island at 1 o’clock p.m. on Saturday, September 11, 2021. Interment will follow for immediate family only, at the Harstine Island Cemetery where she will rest with 19 relatives of the Chapman Family.
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