Alan Jay Chapman of Overland Park, Kansas, died on June 4.
Alan was born on Aug. 11, 1937, in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Arthur and Dorothy Chapman. He grew up in the grocery business; his parents owned Chapman’s Grocery.
He was a member of B’nai Shalom, where he was often called to serve in the minyan. As an Eagle Scout, he was inducted as Black Pigeon into the Tribe of Mic-O-Say — an honor that he would later share with his nephews and grandson.
He attended the University of Missouri, Columbia where he was a proud member of AEPi fraternity and earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the journalism school. He worked for the advertising department of the St. Joseph News-Press & Gazette for a year and then accepted a position as the assistant advertising manager for Milgram Foods Stores, where he remained for 26 years, serving the last 16 of those years as the vice president and director of advertising. At Milgram’s, he wrote and produced the “Janie from Milgram’s” weekly commercials and launched an award-winning scented print campaign, “Fruit’s so Fresh you can almost taste it,” that was a groundbreaking use of scented ink in newspaper advertising.
In 1986, he started Wilson Chapman Advertising, Marketing and PR, which later became InQuest Marketing. Clients included Price Chopper; Belfonte Ice Cream; Seitz Meats; Zarda; Gates and Arthur Bryant’s Barbeques; and Greenies Dog treats. In 2004, he started Alan Chapman + Associates, whose clients included Woods Supermarkets and KC hospice.
In September of 1962, he met Tina Lerner at a party in Raytown, Missouri, that neither of them wanted to attend. After several tries to get her to go out with him, she finally agreed. They were engaged three months later on Valentine’s Day, 1963, and married in August of that year. She was the love of his life. His proudest personal achievements are his 60+ year marriage to Tina and being the “Dear Ol’ Dad” to his daughters, Whitney Chapman (Steven Wechsler) of New York City and Stacy Winkler (Scott Winkler) of Overland Park. He loved being a grandfather, “Poppy,” to his grandchildren, Hannah Hollander, Dillon Hollander and Andrew Winkler (Natalie). His family was the most important aspect of his life.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Ronald Chapman and sister-in-law, Madeline Chapman. He leaves behind his brother Paul Chapman; sister, Nancy Kargman (Steve); in-laws Ken Lerner (Sandi); and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
His proudest professional achievement was creating the Check Out Hunger program for Harvesters Community Food Network, which grew from collecting $70,000 in 1992 to $431,000 in 2014. During his 23-year involvement with this campaign, a total of $4.7 million was raised, equating to nearly 23.8 million meals for those in need. This annual campaign continues during the holiday season and serves as a major revenue source for Harvesters in their fight to end hunger in the Kansas City Metro Area and beyond.
He was an active member of Congregation Beth Shalom, serving on their Couples Club and youth advisory board. He loved summer trips to Herzl Camp with his grandchildren as part of the K’sheshim program, finally getting to enjoy the magic of Herzl Camp where his girls spent many summers. Most recently, he was a proud member of ROMEOs.
Alan’s life was changed by his membership in AEPi fraternity, which provided him a creative outlet and lifelong friends. His love of laughter and great sense of humor remained a part of his life until the end. He was an honorary clown, twice, in the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus; gave his daughters a pet rock named Plymouth; and sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
He was on the board of directors for Theater League and was president of Allied Food Club. With Tina, they co-created and exhibited Creative Crewels at the Plaza, Crown Center, and Prairie Village Art Fairs. He loved movies, saw over 10,000 in his lifetime and could tell you what theater he saw them in and with whom.
He is grateful for the many healthcare professionals who helped him navigate aging with grace and wishes anyone reading this to know that he doesn’t want you to just “have a good day,” he wants you to “have a good life,” because he did.
Funeral services were held at Louis Memorial Chapel on June 7. Burial followed at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Harvesters Community Food Network, Friends of Deanna Rose Farmstead or the charity of your choice.
