Nathaniel Dabney Chapman II

Nathaniel Dabney Chapman II

Nathaniel Dabney Chapman II, 51, Central Intelligence Agency Officer, died Sunday, November 9, 2008, in Alexandria, Virginia, after a valiant struggle with brain cancer for over two years.

Born in Washington, D.C., to a Foreign Service couple, he grew up in Germany, Afghanistan, Russia, Yugoslavia, and The Netherlands. He attended high school at Christ School near Asheville, North Carolina, The Odenwald Schule near Frankfurt, Germany, and graduated from the American School of The Hague in 1975. He received a BA in 1979 from Brown University having spent his junior year at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. His paternal grandfather was Nathaniel Dabney Chapman of Stanardsville and Charlottesville, while his maternal grandfather was Colonel Marion Patton Echols of Charlottesville. Nathaniel graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1983 and subsequently served a year as clerk to Richard Neely, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of West Virginia. He joined the New York law firm, Walter, Constant, Alexander and Green before joining the CIA twenty years ago.

His career took him to Hamburg and Bonn, Germany; Bosnia; New York City; and Ankara, Turkey. His final post was in The Hague, The Netherlands. He was able to complete his final year in The Hague, after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, before returning to his home in Old Town Alexandria. Nathaniel's honors include the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal and the Donovan Award.

Nathaniel possessed a seriousness of purpose tempered by unfailing good humor and abundant appreciation of friendships and of the quiet heroism of his colleagues. He was an accomplished linguist, lover of history, and avid collector. He belonged the University Club of Washington, D.C., the Yale Club in New York City, and the Old Dominion Boat Club in Alexandria, Virginia.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth "Liza" Martin Chapman; daughters, Marguerite, Ellen, and Elizabeth; and son, Nathaniel. Family also includes his brother, John McArthur and Crystal Chapman of Hedgesville, West Virginia; brother, William Echols Chapman; his father, Richard Dabney Chapman of Shepherdstown, West Virginia; and sister, Sarah Chapman and Tim Monahan and family who live in Bangkok, Thailand.

A memorial service was held Sunday, November 16, 2008, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Alexandria.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.