Hope R. Chapin

January 09, 1929 - October 14, 2009

Hope R. Chapin, age 80, passed away on October 14, 2009 at her residence, Timber Ridge, in Issaquah. Born to Edward and Louise Tate Redington on January 9, 1929, she grew up in New York City. She attended Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont where she developed friendships that lasted throughout her life. After marrying Richard Chapin, they moved to Bellevue, Washington and remained married for 20 years. Hope raised three children, daughters Cary and Nancy, and son, Bruce. While Hope lived the majority of her life in Washington state, she was a “New Englander” at heart.

Hope’s life was guided by her love of friends and family, a passion for travel, a thirst for knowledge, her kindred spirit with animals, a commitment to social service, and her deep, never-ending faith. Her strong faith and quest for knowledge led her to pursue the Masters in Values program at San Francisco Theological Seminary. Her thesis work was on civil disobedience. This program deeply impacted Hope’s faith, expanding her sense of what faith called each of us to do. She was a great ecumenical believer, and was very active in both the First United Methodist Church of Bellevue and Bellevue First Congregational Church, where she participated in guiding both churches to become “open and affirming.”

Following her studies with the San Francisco Theological Seminary, Hope went on to work at the First Congregational Church of Bellevue, and the Emergency Feeding Program. She also helped to start the first Eastside P-FLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) group. Her love of travel took her worldwide to places including Africa, Greece, Europe, and of course, always her favorite, Hawaii. She loved sharing these adventures with her dear friends and family.

Following a debilitating stroke in 1992, Hope expressed tremendous gratitude
as she realized that each day of her life following was an unexpected gift. She didn’t take anything for granted and was determined to live life to its fullest. Hope had many four-legged companions throughout her life and they became especially important in her last decades. The family joked that Hope “got rid of the kids because the dog was allergic!” Hope is survived by her children Cary, Bruce and Nancy; their partners Barbara, Cindy and Leah; and her grandchildren Katy, Nick, and Molly. Her family all loved Hope dearly, and feel so blessed to have had her in their lives as a mom, grandmother and friend.

Funeral Information

We invite you to honor and celebrate Hope’s life at a service to be held at Bellevue First Congregational Church (742 108th N.E. Bellevue, WA) on Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

Donations Information

In lieu of flowers, and in remembrance of her love of animals and commitment to service, donations can be made to one of Hope’s favorite charities: Habitat for Humanity, Seattle-King County Humane Society, Emergency Feeding Program - Seattle King County and P-FLAG of Bellevue . Here is the link to P-FLAG. Links to Habitat for Humanity, Seattle Humane Society and Emergency Feeding Programl are listed below.

P-FLAG - http://www.bellevue-pflag.org

Donations Links:

Seattle-King County Humane Society
Habitat for Humanity
Emergency Feeding Program