Happy Father's Day Dad C!

Ronnie here again. I wanted to take the opportunity this Father's Day to honor a great man, my father Ron Chapman. Just the other day in my office a coworker and I were talking about a question of ethics and how it should be handled. It was interesting to hear my friend talk about how his father would have handled things and contrast it with what my father would have done. My Dad has more integrity than anyone I know, so I never have to worry about how he will handle a situation. My father is very meek and humble, so I'll share a few things about him that you would never hear otherwise because he isn't the type of person to talk about himself.

One of my father's best qualities is his determination. Growing up he always wanted to play organized sports, but was not exceptionally coordinated. He couldn't throw, jump or kick, but he could definitely run so he went out for the track team. And he excelled. He once ran a mile in 4 minutes and 18 seconds and set the school record in the 3.5 mile run. He ran for one of the best junior colleges in nation and when he told his track coach he was going to leave to serve a Mormon mission, the coach tried to talk him out of it and told him that they would just have to win the national championship without him if he left. He did leave, and never regretted the decision (and the team did win the national championship while he was gone).

Dad went to Scotland on his mission, which was much different than his Father's mission (Tahiti) or my mission (Honduras). It was not an easy place to serve, but I know he learned and grew a lot while he was there, plus it is the country of our ancestors, which made him immediately connect with the land and its people. Upon returning from his mission he was immediately drafted into the Army during Vietnam. He was sent off to Europe, spending time in Germany and England. In 1971 he was chosen out of 70,000 men as the Soldier of the Year among Army troops stationed in Europe. At 5' 9'' and 170 pounds he wasn't the most imposing soldier, nor was he overly vocal. But he does have a quiet confidence about him and a sets a tremendous example that other people recognize and want to follow.

After being discharged from the Army he enrolled at BYU as a mid 20's freshman. There he met and married my mom. I was born during the bicentennial year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and my mother being the Patriotic person she is had planned to name me either Patrick Henry or George Washington. Fortunately I looked so much like Dad when I was born that they decided to give me his name. My sister Kristen was also born while they lived at Wymount Terrace apartments and Dad sold his beloved orange Ford Mustang with black racing stripe so he could get a more practical family car.

After he finished his doctorate at BYU in Psychology, he realized that he could never do private practice because he didn't have the mentality to charge people money for his services. So he went back to an environment where he was comfortable and enlisted as a clinical psychologist in the Air Force. Once again he excelled in the military, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel over his 20 year career. We had stints in Texas, New Mexico and Maryland in that time frame. During the 12 years we were in Maryland Dad worked at both the National Security Agency and Andrews Air Force Base (where Air Force One is housed).

Dad was in line to become the top ranking pyschologist in the Air Force when my aunt came across a posting in the Church News. Apparently the Career and Counseling Center at BYU needed a new Director, and unbeknownst to Mom, Dad applied for and was offered the job. He hadn't anticipated leaving the military until reaching compulsory retirement at 30 years of service, and had he been single I think he would have stayed in the Air Force. However he wanted geographic stability for my younger sister Elizabeth who was four at the time and knew that my mom had longed for many years to be closer to her five sisters who were sprinkled throughout Utah and Nevada, so as usual he put his interests behind those of his family and made the move out west.

Once at BYU he once again performed admirably and was given increasing amounts of responsibility beyond the Counseling Center at the University level. This meant more and more time spent on administrative affairs and less spent counseling students, which did not sit well with him. He often scheduled counseling sessions without telling his two secretaries because he knew that he wasn't supposed to see patients anymore, but he didn't want to give it up. Currently he is busier than ever and serves as the University's Associate Vice President of Student Life and continues to touch the lives of all he comes in contact with.

Dad was not one to bring his work home with him; probably because it was all classified information, but nontheless he did a great job of compartmentalizing the office and keeping it out of his family life. As a Clinical Psychologist, Father, Husband, Bishop, Counselor in a Stake Presidency, Coach, etc. I felt like all he did all day was listen to other people's problems and I wondered who listened to his problems. I took a psychology class in high school and one day the teacher invited Dad to come speak to the class. I learned more in that hour about what he did at work than in the rest of my years growing up under his roof. He would simply rather talk about what we had going on than the pressures he was facing at the office (My popularity shot up several notches when people found out he was licensed to practice hypnosis. That information would have been more valuable to me prior than my senior year Dad!) . He has always been there for my sisters and me. Whatever we had going on in our lives was important to him and he supported us in all we did. When I got into high school other kids used to ask me if it was weird to have a psychologist for a father and if I felt like he was constantly "analyzing" me. Honestly, I never felt anything other than loved. I can't remember a sports team I was on that he didn't coach or a scout campout that he didn't attend. At my track meets Dad used to stand on the backstretch, far away from the rest of the crowd so that he would be sure that I could specifically hear his words of encouragement with each passing lap. I will always be grateful for his advice, guidance, counsel, listening ear and friendship.

I know this Father's Day must have been a difficult one for him as his Father passed away last August and his Mother passed just 8 months before that.

I know that they are very proud of him and who he is and so am I. I couldn't have asked for a better father. Love you Dad.