Virginia Sue Chilcoat Chapman was born on September 24, 1936 in Muskogee Oklahoma and passed away December 5, 2020 at Go Ye Village after a lengthy illness. She was preceded in death by her husband Gary D. Chapman, mother Catherine Virginia Stewart Chilcoat and her father Marshall Ephriam "Sparky" Chilcoat. She is survived by her daughter Susan Chapman Plumb and son-in-law Loyal Plumb, her brother Jim Chilcoat, sister-in-law Phyllis Chilcoat of Collinsville, her 4 granddaughters Susannah Scott (Dustin), of Tahlequah, Sarah Plumb Morrison (Michael), of Tahlequah, Sunday White (Brett), of Wagoner, Sophie Rotola (Nick) of Wichita Ks. and seven great grandchildren, Zeke, Zach, Emma, Conrad, Teddi, Kodi and Rowan. She also leaves behind a host of nephews and nieces and her only brother's children, Holly Sexton of Pryor, Ok and Lt. Russel Chilcoat, USN, Norfolk, Virginia and beloved sister-in-law, Lenore Jones (Jack).

Sue's maternal grandparents were Scottish Quakers who moved to Indian Territory to help others find social justice and the family settled in the Muskogee area for good with her attorney grandfather representing many tribal citizens in federal court during the Dawes Commission. Her father and mother, Sparky and Kate, both loved and exemplified Christ and at an early age Sue made a decision to live a servant's life for Christ.

She was educated at Muskogee Central High School and Northeastern State University where she received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in education. Her family could not afford tuition and Sue earned her way through college by teaching swimming and water safety instruction classes at NSU. She was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and served as the campus sponsor for several years influencing many young women to make good, wise choices with their lives and careers as she felt hers were limited by the conventions of the 1950s. She stayed in touch with many of her high school and college friends and after her retirement from teaching she traveled frequently with them and her dear friend, Jill Berry Ericksten, enjoying many far flung destinations, sometimes taking along her granddaughters.

Her first teaching job was at Tenkiller school where she was hired by Zeke Chapman (to keep her from taking a job in Denver, Colorado!) She then taught physical education and coached girl's basketball at Fort Gibson where her husband Gary was frequently a referee at her games and drove the team bus. She later took a position at her alma mater, West Jr.High in Muskogee where she was cheerleading coach and helped to promote racial harmony and understanding during the tumultuous years of integration in Muskogee public schools.

She served for several years as the waterfront director for Girl Scout Camp at camp Fred Darby. Chapman finished her teaching career in Muskogee where she taught 5th grade social studies and art at Grant Foreman Elementary to hundreds of students, many who remember her as their favorite teacher. An accomplished artist in her own right she tutored several budding artists during this time. Sue retired from teaching in 1991, but not before she participated in the teacher's strike which was successful in garnering pay raises for all public educators in Oklahoma. She was also instrumental in engineering many successful tribal council campaigns for Gary, crisscrossing the 15 counties and serving many plates of hog, pinto beans, slaw and fry bread. She was active in the NSU Nifty Fifties, Soroptimist and served on the Board of Directors at Bank of Cherokee County for over twenty years.

In 1957 she sat behind Gary in class at NSU and "introduced" herself by drawing on his shirt. Gary liked to call her Big Sue though she barely tipped the scale at 100lbs. They were never apart after that and their marriage, which started on a below zero day in January of 1955, lasted 64 years until his passing in 2019.

Mrs. Chapman loved sewing, painting and crafting and frequently made elaborate dresses, Halloween or school costumes including prom, Pocahontas, pioneer girl, wedding dresses and princess attire taking specific requests for color, style and fabric from those she sewed for. An active member for many years at First Baptist Church she created hundreds of daily projects for VBS attendees of all skill levels. She also spent many years volunteering for various projects at the Thompson House where she particularly loved Victorian Christmas and school days teaching students what it was like to attend school in the Tahlequah of the late 1800's. Sue was very thrifty and could "pinch a dollar out of a penny" except when it came to Christmas decorating and shopping. She went all out with beautiful trees, teddy bears, garlands, candles and an embarrassing amount of personally selected and hand wrapped gifts. She was a supporter of whatever her family needed serving as expert bookkeeper, birthday party thrower, ghost story teller, political advisor, psychologist and all around selfless helper to whatever the needs of others were. She was a great listener and left her family a priceless legacy of quiet wisdom that is both steadfast and practical.

The family wishes to thank special friends Amy Morrison, Paulette Wall, Penny Miller, Good Shepherd Hospice and the entire Med Center Staff at Go Ye Village.

Due to safety restrictions the family will have a private graveside service and host a public memorial at a later date. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Thompson House or Go Ye Village benevolence fund.