Christine Marie Conway Chapman
July 24, 1951 - May 28, 2009

Eulogy offered by Sunny Hall
June 6, 2009

We seek to honor the life of an incredible woman with a brilliant legacy. To her mother and brother and her Kentucky family, she is Tina. To her friends from high school and the Tampa community she is Chris. To the women of Crescendo and Phoenix, she is one of the two parts of ChapMack. To her children, she is mom and to her grandchildren, she is Grams. To Mary she is Love and to all of us she is life - everything about Christine Marie Conway Chapman exuded life. There are people who walk through life - Chris sashayed.

She was born in Dayton Kentucky to Ruth and James Conway. She was their first born and the light of their lives. Tina reveled in the glow of a large extended family that all lived within walking distance. There were aunts, uncles and cousins all over Newport Kentucky and young Tina was a star. There was a moment when she was six-years-old Tina decided to keep a neighbor woman company while she finished her laundry. She sang every line from every song from the King and I. Can't you see it? Little Tina swirling about someone's basement singing "Getting to Know You". Her mother was city and her father was country. As much as she loved her mom's family she equally delighted in trips to the farm to visit her grandparents.

When she was about 8 years old, little Tina was presented with her first true challenge. Baby brother Jim appeared and as you might guess, there was a period of adjustment. But true to form, Tina loved him and protected him, in spite of the slight shadow he cast upon her stardom.

When she was about 12 years old, Tina faced the second great challenge in her life. Her family left the mild hills of Kentucky for the steamy, humid, very protestant, Central Florida. It was in Tampa that Tina became Chris and introduced herself to John, Paul, George and Ringo. Chris' love of the Beatles is legend and she credits them for saving her life at a time when she was faced with a very clear decision. Fall into the misery of loneliness that only a twelve year old can really understand or suck it up and get out there to claim her place in this new world.

You know what she chose; you might not know how she did it. Chris was a smart 12 year old. She knew that being product of a fine Catholic school education, she had an edge on her public school peers. So, she played that edge. She sang, acted, played and danced her way into "the scene" at King High School. She taught guitar at the Rec Center, she sang in a trio and was voted Most Talented in the Notables her senior year at King.

Christine Conway was a force. She was no match for little Mary Warmack. Mary's brother Michael and Ed Chapman were best friends. Mary recalls that she was about ten years old, the day she met Chris. There was a knock at the door and on the other side was a sparkling Chris Conway sporting a fabulous mini-skirt complimented with Go-Go boots for days. Sitting in the driveway was Chris' latest conquest - a supercharged Cutlass given to her by her parents. And she was ready to ride. Michael left Mary at home that day. But unbeknownst to any of them, there would be other days to ride.

As young women did back then, Chris took a husband, Ed Chapman, her high school sweetheart. Ed is a good man. He and Chris brought Ashley and Michael into the world. Later when Ed and Chris lived separate lives their friendship and devotion to their children kept them close through the years.

Because Mary caught the bouquet at Chris' wedding it is fitting that Chris would be Mary's Maid of Honor when she took a husband. Life is funny.

In 1985 Chris and Mary set out to build a life together. Over the course of 25 years, they raised three children, created a home and grew a business. Mary says you can't help who you fall in love with. Lucky for her, the universe picked the perfect mate for her and for Chris.

We can't talk about Chris without talking about her life as an entertainer - From Singing the King and I at age 6 to serenading the students at USF's Broken String with the trio, Bitter Wine. And her gift for entertaining went beyond the stage. Her house was aflutter at the holidays. Decorations, children, people everywhere - the controlled chaos that was a holiday at the ChapMack household. Her life's work became the Flower Cone and with Mary, she grew a solid business into the standard by which others would measure themselves. Flowers are entertainment. They are joy, comfort and celebration. They are life. Just like Chris, they exude the vibrancy of a well lived life. Crescendo, the Tampa Bay Women's Chorus and The Phoenix, Women's Voices Rising offered Chris the opportunities to realize amazing experiences. She traveled from Montreal to Miami but one of her happiest experiences was singing at Carnegie Hall in New York. From the minute she arrived in New York, she was 15 again, drinking in every nuance of the most vibrant city on earth. She took the bus along 42nd Street to Broadway and got off at 72nd Street and ended up in front of the Dakota. With reverence she touched the metal railing surrounding the building and then walked across the street to Strawberry Fields - do not pick the flowers. I don't think Chris left there without foliage. Finally she got down on the ground and had her picture taken at the IMAGINE medallion. Everyone who took that trip talked about how excited they were that Chris was able to sit at that medallion and honor her beloved John Lennon.

She returned to Tampa and faced her greatest fear. She joined a choir. She sang with the Phoenix and later joined Crescendo. Her shining moment was when she brought down the house with her spot on delivery of a monologue that wasn't as funny when it was written as when she delivered it to an audience of thousands in Miami. This from a woman who was so nervous she threw up before calling bingo at her daughter's school.

All of the other words you can use to define Chris fit into these two words - Loyalty and Integrity. Her love was the basis of her loyalty and her loyalty is the symbol of her integrity. She is the quintessential mother bear. She is, in a word, a righteous woman.

Chris' faith tells us that she has looked into the face of her God. Her faith also tells us that her spirit has discerned the spirit of John Lennon. And she wants you to know that you cannot imagine how incredibly beautiful you are. You cannot imagine what it is like to see you through her eyes today. You cannot imagine what your life will be like, but she knows. And Chris would tell you that you do not have to imagine her. You will know her and you will know that she is always with you.

God Bless Christine Marie Conway Chapman.