Gone across to the promised land, but not forgotten here.

[MATLOCK12C]

I felt the need to write about a dear friend who passed away this week. I have never had a death effect me as much as his has.

Lenard Carrol Chapman
born Oct,13 th 1961
died Nov 7 th 2004

We had been best friends for over 25 years, Our familys were distant kin to each other. We were 4 th cousins"dog kin" they call it down here. But he was my mentor, when it came to the woods, and hunting & fishing and such.  It was the one place the man was truly at home. If it walked, creeped , or crawled , swam , floated or flied, he knew just about everything there was to know about it.
He lived his life on his own terms, and answered to no man. He was what so called "polite sociaty" would call an outlaw or a crazy man. He was nether one of those.
He was a deeply spiritual man, he believed in his God but did not wear his religion on his sleave for all to see.
He was the most moral and honest man I had ever known, His word was his bond.
He was the same fella everytime you seen him, no matter where that might be.
He stood up for what was right, moral, and just even if others thought differently.
He was quick to defend the helpless, and rebuke the wicked without being selfrightious about it.
He was a big man, with a tender heart who bore the burden of many hurts that life deals out with honor and grace.
His only real crime in life was being born a century to late, he never fit into the mold, so to speak.
One of his favorite quotes was from the John Wayne film "The Shootist" where he said " I wont be wronged, I wont be insulted, and I wont be laid a hand on. I don't do these thing's to other people, and expect the same from them"
He lived it!
He did not wear a watch, never really cared what day it was. The only thing that mattered to him was his friends, and family.
He was the kind of man you could call up in the middle of the night and tell him you needed help and he would be there with you no matter what the circumstance was.
They dont make men of that caliber anymore.
He was my friend, my brother and my closest confidant. He bore my burdens, as well as my victorys in this world.
I only hope to be the man he thought I was .
He will be deeply missed, and rememberd by all who knew him.
Shane R. Matlock.

To those of you who read this, let me say. In your whole life you might have one or two people who you can really depend on to be there for you deep in the night, who you can call and will show up no matter what. Guard and protect those friendships, for they are what is really most important.

[dawei]

Lenard Carrol Chapman
born Oct,13 th 1961
died Nov 7 th 2004

How; and of what, did he die?

[MATLOCK12C]

He died at his home in Logansport La, I spoke to him that morning at 8:00 am. We were going to go hunting that nextday, he was looking forward to it. He had worked the night before, he worked for Securitas, at one of the Casino's here in La, He told me to call him back around 12:30 pm.
When the phone rang at 12:15 I thought it was him, but it was his elderly mother who lived with him. She had went into his room to wake him up and found him dead in bed. She called me here in Marshall, and was beyond upset. I told her to dial 911 and I was on the way.
Its 56 miles to his house from mine I made it there in 40 minutes. The deputy had just got there. We had to wait for the J.P. to come and declare him before we could do anything else.
An autopsy was called for since he died at home, I spoke to the corner, the cause of death was massive heart attack. The Doctor told me that there was nothing to indecate any heart desease, he was healthy as could be. It was just a massive cornary and even if he had been in the best hospital on earth they could not have saved him. His heart was torn in two, thats how strong it was. He told me it was painless.
I went in to see him when I got there, he was laying there with his hands behind his head like always, just like he was asleep.
He was on top of the covers, and was dressed, he was going to go down to the river to run his lines when he got up. Hell, he even had his boots on. It's just one of those things that only God knows why.

[IntrepidWizard]

Sit down Matlock,we may be Cuz,my maternal grandfather was of the Johnny Applesed Chapmans and one found Lee's order of March #19 wrapped with twine around four cigars---turned in the orders kept the Cigars---my kind of guy.