[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E625-E626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   APPRECIATING JUDGE ROBERT CHAPMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2018

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, South Carolina honored a 
Grateful Patriot, Judge Robert Foster Chapman, who passed away on April 
18, 2018.
  As a courageous pioneer for developing the two-party system, Judge 
Chapman was Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party in 1961 
when Charlie Boineau of Richland County was elected the first 
Republican legislator of the 20th Century, and in 1962 when State 
Representative Floyd Spence of Lexington County, was the first 
legislator to switch parties in the 20th Century. From this humble 
beginning, the Republican Party advanced to majority status in 1994.
  I particularly appreciate his judicial service in 1984 when he ruled 
that State Senate elections would not be delayed and single member 
districts would be implemented based on equal population.
  The following obituary was published on April 26, 2018, in The State 
of Columbia, South Carolina:

       Judge Robert Foster Chapman, born April 24, 1926, in Inman 
     South Carolina, as the middle son of the five sons of James 
     Alfred Chapman and Martha Marshall Chapman, died peacefully 
     in his sleep on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. He attended the 
     public schools of Spartanburg and graduated from Spartanburg 
     High School in 1943. He entered the U.S. Navy on July 1, 
     1943, in the V-12 Program at Emory and Henry College. In 
     March of 1944, he transferred to the naval ROTC at the 
     University of South Carolina and graduated in 1945 with a 
     B.S. Degree and was commissioned as an Ensign. He was 
     assigned to Guam and commanded the ship YW-92 at age 19. He 
     later attended the Crossroads Operation where atomic bombs 
     were tested after the war.
       He entered the University of South Carolina Law School in 
     September of 1946 and graduated in January of 1949. He 
     entered the practice of law as an associate in the firm of 
     Osborne, Butler and Moore in Spartanburg, South Carolina and 
     remained with this firm until December of 1951 when he was 
     recalled to active duty with the U.S. Navy. He was on active 
     duty as a Lieutenant from January of 1952 until October of 
     1953, on the staff of the Commander Naval Forces, Marianas 
     Islands. He returned to Spartanburg in October of 1953 and 
     formed the law firm of Butler and Chapman, which became 
     Butler, Chapman, Parler and Morgan where he practiced law 
     until appointed by President Nixon in May of 1971 as a United 
     States District Judge. In October of 1981, President Reagan 
     appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth 
     Circuit where he served until electing senior status in May 
     of 1991.
       Judge Chapman moved from Spartanburg to Camden, South 
     Carolina shortly after he became a federal judge and he 
     resided in Camden until moving back to Spartanburg in 2008.
       He became active in the South Carolina Republican Party in 
     the spring of 1960 and was a delegate to the Republican 
     National Conventions in 1960, 1964 and 1968. He served as the 
     Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party from July of 
     1961 until March of 1963. He was the Chairman of the 
     Spartanburg County Republican Party from 1964 through 1969.
       He received the Order of the Palmetto in 1978; the National 
     Patriot's Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society 
     in 1985; an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the 
     University of South Carolina in 1986; an Honorary Doctor of 
     Humanities from the College of Charleston in 2000. He became 
     a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association beginning 
     on September 1, 1969.
       He married Mary Winston (Wince) Gwathmey Chapman of 
     Spartanburg on December 21, 1951 and took her with him to 
     Guam. They had three sons: Edward Bates Chapman, born 
     December 11, 1953, of Tryon, North Carolina; Alfred Foster 
     Chapman, born October 16, 1955, of Spartanburg, South 
     Carolina; and Winston Gwathmey Chapman, born November 11, 
     1958 of Breckenridge, Colorado. Wince Chapman was the 
     daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Edward M Gwathmey of Spartanburg and 
     she died September 28, 1998. He married Mary Vail St. Georges 
     of South

[[Page E626]]

     Amboy, New Jersey on September 30, 2000. Mary died February 
     14, 2013.
       He has three daughters in-law, Jeanette, Ruth and Ann; step 
     children, Joe St. Georges and Cathy St. Georges, and their 
     children; eight grandchildren, Robert, Malsert, Gabrielle, 
     Ian, Katie, Chelsea, Cameron and Daniel; four step 
     grandchildren, Hannah, Ben, Lori, and Will; and ten great 
     grandchildren.
       Judge Chapman was the third son of the late Mr. and Mrs. 
     James A Chapman of Spartanburg. His brothers who predeceased 
     him were James A Chapman, Jr; William Marshall Chapman; 
     Joseph Wallace Chapman, and Hugh McMaster Chapman. He is 
     survived by his brother in-law, Edward M Gwathmey of Vail, 
     Co; and sister in-law, Elizabeth S. Chapman of Spartanburg, 
     SC; and many nieces and nephews.
       He was a Deacon and an Elder at the First Presbyterian 
     Church of Spartanburg and an Elder at Bethesda Presbyterian 
     Church in Camden.
       The family is most appreciative for the loving care 
     rendered to the Judge by ``his Ladies'': Toni Moore, Felicia 
     Hollis, Betty Garrett, Courtney Oglesby, Karen Styles and 
     Angie Lipscomb.
       Honorary pallbearers will be the many law clerks who worked 
     with and were mentored by the Judge over his career.
       A memorial service will be held Monday, April 30th, 4:00 PM 
     at the First Presbyterian Church of Spartanburg.
       Memorials may be made in Judge Chapman's honor to The 
     Linville Foundation, P.O. Box 99, Linville North Carolina 
     28646; or The Chapman Cultural Center, 200 East St John 
     Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306.

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