04/09/2023
On April 6th, 2023 our family lost its rock, John Thomas Chapman at only 57 years old. My father lived a life unlike many others, in that he was able to follow several passions that he had, and was surrounded by family and friends who loved him dearly.
My father had dreams as a young person of opening an automotive shop, and the day that he left our family marked 31 years since Chapman Automotive's grand opening in April 1992. My father was the strongest and most intelligent man I've ever known, and if he put his mind to something, then it was a matter of time until it was achieved.
He was a name at Kalamazoo Speedway that most knew, and loved. His number "49," in any stock of racing that he did, was sure to have a crowd of fans behind it. He loved his family deeply, his business and all the thousands of people that he met over those 31 years, who helped him to live his dream. His racing family is huge, and I know the shock that it is going to bring to those who knew and loved him. My father made a spot for himself in the racing community, and in return was able to meet so many people who made an impact on his life and vice versa.
As his daughter, I cannot even begin to tell you how many people stopped me throughout my life, to tell me they know my father and have great respect for him all over Kalamazoo. I always thought it was unbelievable how many people that he knew, how far his web of kindness and generosity spread. I am proud of my father every single day of my life, and I am proud of the legacy that he will leave on. I, and my family, want to thank everyone for all of the kind words and ways that you have tried to pass along to us during this time. Some of us have been able to answer back, but I myself have been struggling with this very hard and trying my best to get my head on straight and figure out how to honor my father in a way that he would be proud of me.
Please show my brother John and I some grace as we put things together to celebrate my father's beautiful life. I will release more information as soon as we know about what we are going to do to honor my father. This will be a public event, and we encourage people to share this post to anyone and everyone who was touched by him. We will need help to spread the word to those who may want to attend his services and Veteran solute at Fort Custer in the coming weeks.
This is something that my brother John and I are not familiar with, and is hard to ask for, we could use a showing of love and help from those who cared for and loved our father. He has left us with a world full of hobbies and business matters to take care after this all settles, and we could use any support that may come our way.
John and I have created a GoFundMe for my fathers services and all the legal mess that comes next. We are so thankful for anyone who would take the time to check out the GoFundMe page, even if just to read it and share it with others. My father had a huge heart, and we hope that you can help share this post out of the goodness of your own. Our family is deeply hurting, but we feel the love already from everyone's messages. I can't even begin to fathom the network of people that my father has, that will come forward to say their condolences, and we appreciate all your love.
Thank you, from the bottom of our heart, in the worse of our hours.
Our names are Tamara Dugan and John Chapman II, and our father was John… Tamara Dugan needs your support for John Chapman, Chapman Automotive #49 Racing Team
