Catherine Peggy Chapman

Catherine Peggy (Jones) Chapman, 98
SOUTH PORTLAND - On March 3, 2018 Catherine Peggy (Jones) Chapman, 98 of South Portland died peacefully at Pine Point Center in Scarborough, while recovering from pneumonia. Peggy, as she was called most of her life, was born Dec. 4, 1919 in Liverpool, England to Tom and Elizabeth (Roberts) Jones.
The family spent summers in northern Wales where her extended family had grown up. Peggy was an honor student who was fluent in Welsh and French. She graduated from the Liverpool School For Girls and the University of Liverpool where she had won a full scholarship. Peggy carried on despite having to study through the continual bombings, blackout and severe rationing of six long years of WWII. At one time she had to run for her life to an air raid shelter to escape the machine gun fire of a Nazi fighter plane. In 1945, on VE Day while traveling to London to celebrate the end of the war she met Herbert Blaisdell Chapman of Augusta, an American G.I. It was "love at first sight" which deepened through frequent letter writing. In January, 1948 Peggy sailed on the Queen Mary to the U.S. to live in Augusta with Herbert's family until Herbert and Peggy were married in June, 1948. The Chapmans lived in Farmingdale, Waterville, on North Pond in Smithfield and in Belleview, Fla.
Peggy was a teacher who taught English in England and Farmingdale and French In Waterville. Estranged from Herbert after retirement, Peggy chose to start fresh; she now went by Catherine as her name. She moved to Boise, Idaho near her daughter Jude. She later divided her time each year between Colorado, Florida and Victoria, British Columbia. Always up for an adventure, she travelled solo throughout Europe. She considered Switzerland to be the most beautiful place she had ever seen. Around 10 years ago Catherine returned to Maine to live in Brunswick, then later in the Betsy Ross House in South Portland. She was always very proud that she had become a U.S. citizen in 1948. Catherine enjoyed the arts. Growing up she had a talent for designing and drawing fashion. Her sister Myra would sew up her creations. She also loved to read and to write poetry and preferred reading novels to watching TV. After retirement she learned to speak Spanish fluently. Catherine kept herself fit, to the end taking walks almost daily, now using a walker. Everyone who met her was immediately charmed by her British accent and her interesting stories of her amazing life. Her most joyous times were spent in visits with her family, especially her great-grandchildren. She was proud of being Welsh and preferred to be called Naini, which is Welsh for grandmother. She was a congregate of St Albans. She loved nature, especially flowers, animals, the ocean and the mountains. She was always current on world affairs, present and optimistic. One of her mottos was "Don't worry, it may never happen."
Catherine was predeceased by her husband Herbert of Florida, her brother Victor Jones and her sisters Irene (Camp) Jones of England; her brother David died in infancy. Catherine is survived by her daughters Catherine Chapman of South Portland, and Judith Leggett and her husband Kenneth of Castle Rock, Colo.; four grandchildren, Aaron Dunn-Hoffman and his wife Alaena of Scarborough with great-grandchildren Fiona and Silas, Kyla Chapman Hoffman of Brussels, Belgium, and Anna Duggan and husband Mark of Littleton, Colo. with great-grandchildren Emerson and Bryce; step-grandson Cheyenne Leggette and wife Lori of Colorado with step-great-grandchildren Cooper and Coleton and near Liverpool, England; nephew Peter Scott Jones and wife Jayne,with daughters Sophie and Sonja, nieces Kathleen Scott Jones with daughter Sarah and Carol Scott Jones and her husband David, with sons Sam and Jack.
Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial service on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 11 a.m. at Saint Albans Church, 885 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth.

In lieu of flowers
Donations may be made in her memory to:
The American Civil Liberties Union
c/o Gift Processing Dept.
125 Broad St. 18th FL
New York, N.Y. 10004
www.aclu.org