Curtis Chapman Jr.

NEW LONDON -- Major General Curtis W. Chapman Jr., 91, retired U.S. Army Engineer, died July 20, 2010, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

He was born in Huntington, W.Va., to Curtis and Cecelia (Lundquist) Chapman. He was a graduate of West Point, class of 1941. He subsequently earned degrees in engineering at California Institute of Technology, and in business administration at the University of Hartford.

His first station after West Point was in Hawaii, where he commanded a combat engineer company under fire during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Subsequent troop commands included leading an engineer battalion in New Guinea and the Philippines (1944), a combat engineer group in South Korea (1962), and command of the 20th Engineer Brigade in Vietnam (1967-68).

IN HIS LIFE: His administrative assignments included teaching at the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Va.; research and development on the Army General Staff; deputy command of the USA Engineer Division, Mediterranean, based in French Morocco; assignment to the Special Studies Group of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; command of the USA Engineer Division, Pacific Ocean, based in Hawaii; Director of Military Engineering for the Chief of Engineers; deputy commanding general of Combat Developments Command at Fort Belvoir; and Senior Army Member of the Secretary of Defense's Weapons Systems Evaluation Group.

Over the course of his career, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with cluster, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with two clusters, Bronze Star, Air Medal with two clusters, and several commendation medals.

As a cadet at West Point, he met Margaret "Terry" Richards and they became engaged within two weeks. They would have celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary in September. Upon his retirement from the Army in 1975, General and Mrs. Chapman lived in Colorado Springs, Colo., and on Lake Sunapee, and traveled extensively before settling in New London in 1991. He served as president of the Lake Sunapee Protective Association from 1979 to 1982, and was a member of the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club. He participated actively in summer services at St. James in the Field, Burkehaven.

His intelligent pursuit of the heart of any mission --- whether military or civilian, his tireless application to the job at hand, and his friendly cheerfulness will be long remembered by those who worked with him.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret (Richards) of New London; daughter Cynthia and her husband, Woody Canaday of Cos Cob, Conn. and New London, NH; son Bruce and his wife, Jaci Chapman of Germantown, Md.; and grandsons Christopher and Nicholas Chapman of Germantown, and Miles and Brooks Canaday of Boston.

SERVICES: A burial will be held on Aug. 20 at New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen. A reception and celebration of his life will be held at the Lake Sunapee Protective Association, Knowlton House, in Sunapee Harbor, on Aug. 20 from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Donations may be made to Lake Sunapee Protective Association, 63 Main St., PO Box 683, Sunapee 03782 or to the charity of one's choice.