Obituary for Clifford William Chapman PhD
Clifford W. Chapman, PhD
Indialantic, FL
With a heavy heart we say goodbye.
Dr. Clifford Chapman passed away suddenly on April 18, 2017. Cliff was born on November 11, 1946 in Washington, DC. He graduated from Villanova University and Georgetown University and attained his PhD in Solid State Physics while working fulltime at Night Vision Labs in Virginia. He moved with his family to Melbourne to join Harris Corporation in 1983.
Cliff worked at Harris for more than 33 years. As a System Engineer, he worked in a variety of different roles. He worked with a number of different customers in the Proprietary Business Area performing system architecting, creating presentations, and leading proposal and study teams, gaining the respect and admiration of Harris customers and colleagues. Cliff excelled as an Advanced Program Engineer (APE), had many accomplishments and rose quickly through the engineering ranks. He achieved the highest technical level as Senior Scientist and Harris Fellow.
His work ethic, teamwork and technical leadership skills resulted in a number of innovations and new business opportunities for Harris. Cliff enjoyed his work and the missions he supported. His dedication and leadership will be missed.
Being the videographer of his family’s events, travels and adventures brought him much joy. He was in the midst of editing their latest trip to Yosemite and Napa Valley. At an early age, he was inspired by Mr. Wizard, and science and technology became his lifelong passion.
He will be missed by his wife of nearly 49 years, Helena; their three daughters and families: Christina and Dennis Townsend, Liana Chapman, and Alicia and Randall Mauldin; five grandchildren: Liam, Ana Cristina, Nathaniel, Abriella and Pierson; his siblings: Robert, Cynthia and Douglas; and his dog, Riley.
A viewing will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at Beach Funeral Home in Indian Harbour Beach from 1-3 pm with a memorial service to follow at 3 pm. Condolences may be made to Beach Funeral Home at www.beachfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, the Chapman family encourages memorial gifts be made to the Florida Institute of Technology Student Design Project Fund. Gifts can be made online at https://give.fit.edu/college-of-engineering. Under Donation Information, select “Other” for Designation, and enter: Dr. Clifford Chapman Memorial Gift.
Memorial gifts can also be mailed. Make checks out to: Florida Institute of Technology with Dr. Clifford Chapman Memorial Gift in the memo. Mail checks to Florida Institute of Technology, Allen Henry Building, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901.
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