Saturday, January 2, 2016
I was thinking of who I remember as Father Chapman this morning while attending mass. I was not aware that he had passed as a result of an automobile accident and do not know why I recall Father Jean as I had not seen him since 1984. He was a wonderful person as was his wife, Marilyn.
My name is Bob Fontaine and I was hired by Father Jean Chapman as a Catholic school principal in 1980 at Our Lady of Lourdes-St. James Catholic School in Vancouver, Washington. Father Jean was a wonderful priest who loved children and provided thought provoking homilies to his parishioners. However, it was apparent that he had a vocation to be a husband and father which he fully recognized when he met Marilyn Cloyd who I just learned died with him in this tragic accident. I remember hiring Marilyn as the 7th grade teacher at the school. She, too, was a wonderful person.
I moved on from my position at the school eventually coming back to Idaho. I learned that Father Jean had left the active priesthood and married Marilyn. I knew them both very well and felt that this was truly a marriage which was blessed by God. Know that they are with God today.
God bless,
Bob Fontaine
fontfam7033@q.com
