Pamela G. (nee Gatenby) Chapman of Natick passed away at her home on Wednesday, February 11, 2015. She was seventy-seven years old. Born on 24th December 1937 at Brighton-le-Sands, Sydney. She was the first of three daughters of Charles Gatenby, an Australian aviation pioneer and later mining entrepreneur and his wife Thelma.
Pamela was enjoying a wonderful life with her doting parents and attentive nanny Angie therefore the birth of her sister Suzanne in 1940 came as a shock: she advised her parents to leave the baby at the hospital! Before Suzanne could command too much parental attention the family moved to Singapore and the little girls had an amah each. Pamela quickly learned Malay and amazingly she could remember words for years after.
The idyllic life in the Far East ended with the The Fall of Singapore in 1942. Thelma and her daughters left on the P&O ship “Orion” one of the last passenger vessels to depart Singapore. Charles escaped and flew a group of men to Darwin.
Pamela's parents always loved the tropics and when the war was over the family, with their newest daughter Yvonne, moved back to Cairns in far north Queensland. Charles commuted between New Guinea and Cairns and Thelma looked after the family and their business interests which now included ‘Mantaka’ a pineapple plantation with a timber forest for felling and ‘Mt Peter’ a gold mine and treatment plant.
Like a lot of children living in remote locations with unpredictable tropical weather and unreliable transport, Pamela and her two sisters became boarders at St Gabriel’s Church of England Girls Grammar School at Charters Towers in Central Queensland. Pamela loved the academic and social life at St Gabriel’s. She was a student of piano and voice and enjoyed performing in musical productions as well as designing and sewing costumes.
When her parents eventually decided to concentrate on mining the family was reunited in Herberton about 70 miles inland from Cairns. Pamela attended St Mary’s, the local Church of England Girls Grammar School however the best singing teachers were at St Joseph's Convent - the Catholic school opposite. Thelma called on the nuns and with great subtleness she reminded them of all the good works her husband had done for their missions in New Guinea; they agreed to make an exception and teach Pamela singing and also to include her in their science classes since they were not available at St Mary’s.
When Pamela finished school there were very few opportunities in the remote township of Herberton for further education or employment therefore her parents supported her decision to move to Sydney. In Sydney there were relatives and friends and her parents were delighted when a year later they received a letter from Philip Chapman, the son of their oldest friends, asking permission to marry Pamela. Soon after the newlyweds headed to the United States so Philip could attend M.I.T. While waiting for a visa, they temporally moved to Montreal, Canada. The winter weather was quite a shock for these two coming from such a tropical environment from Australia. Philip took a job at a local electronics company. Shortly thereafter, her much loved son, Peter was born.
The trio moved to Boston in the early 1960’s and where Philip attended school for his master’s degree and doctorate. Pamela worked at the university to help support the family and attended Radcliffe University and studied biology.
Shortly thereafter, Phil was accepted into the astronaut program and they moved to Houston, Texas. Pamela had strongly wanted a little girl and her wish was granted with the birth of her daughter Kristen.
Due to constraints, Thelma and Charles were unable to keep in touch with Pamela and her family to the extent that they desired. In 1969 Pamela's family were thrilled when she and Philip arranged for her father Charles to visit them and be part of the guard of honour when Astronaut Commander Neil Armstrong and his crew climbed aboard “Apollo 11” for the first Moon landing.
With the Apollo space programming winding down, Philip quit the program and the family moved back to Boston and settled in historic Concord, not far from the bridge that was the start of the American Revolution.
Due to changing times, a recession, and other challenges, Pamela and Philip divorced. She moved to Lexington and started a new career as a title examiner and worked for the law firm Hale and Door. She and her son remodeled a Cape styled house common to the Boston area. She had impeccable taste and an early inventor of house “staging” and the house sold the first day on the market and over asking price.
She shortly thereafter moved to Natick, a town she loved most. In retirement, she met at the local Dunkin Doughnuts for her coffee klatch.
Pamela shared with her sisters an interest in antiques and she enjoyed collecting fine china; she possessed a keen sense of humour and had an optimistic outlook on life. Pamela embraced‘the American Dream’. She was very proud of her son and daughter and their partners. In particular she loved her two grandsons so very much. She was so proud of them and rightly so. All of Pamela's family, both here in the States and Australian relatives are deeply saddened by her passing and she will be missed.
A Funeral Service will be held in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park St., at Natick Common on Monday, February 16th at 11:00AM. Relatives and friends respectfully invited.
Visiting hours Sunday from 3:00-6:00PM. Burial is private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Pam’s memory may be made to the Natick Service Council, 2 Webster St., Natick, MA 01760.
For directions, obituary or to send the family a condolence please visit www.everettfuneral.com