Mary Chapman, Tulsa philanthropist, dies

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A private service is pending for Mary K. Chapman, a longtime Tulsa philanthropist. <br><br>Mrs. Chapman died Monday. She was 81. <br><br>Mrs. Chapman and her late husband, Harry Allen

Tuesday, May 21st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A private service is pending for Mary K. Chapman, a longtime Tulsa philanthropist.

Mrs. Chapman died Monday. She was 81.

Mrs. Chapman and her late husband, Harry Allen Chapman, established the H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Charitable Trust in 1976 and, more recently, she founded the Mary K. Chapman Foundation. Both trusts have contributed to many Oklahoma charities.

Chapman was the son of Tulsa philanthropists James A. and Leta Chapman. He and Mary Kathryn Lancaster were married in 1960.

Mary Chapman graduated from the University of Tulsa and worked as a nurse before her marriage to H.A. Chapman, who owned Chapman Exploration Inc., an independent oil and gas production firm.

The couple purchased a controlling interest in the National Bank of Commerce in February 1968, but sold a substantial portion of it in the bank in 1975. H.A. Chapman remained on its board of directors until his death.

At the University of Tulsa, the Mary K. Chapman Center for Communicative Disorders, the Allen Chapman Activity Center and the Chapman Plaza at the Reynolds Center are named in their honor.

The couple also donated $1 million to TU in 1968 to establish James A. Chapman Hall to house the College of Nursing and Applied Sciences.

At the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine's Women's Health Center in Tulsa, the recently dedicated mammography center was named after both H.A. and Mary Chapman.

Another recent contribution resulted in the naming of the Chapman Great Reading Room at the University of Oklahoma Law School in Norman.

Mary Chapman is survived by a stepson, Harry Allen Chapman Jr. of Memphis, Tenn.; and three stepgrandchildren.