Rhea Marlene Chapman was born to Lloyd and Velma Williams on February 9, 1937, in Pittsburg, Missouri, a place where many of her family still reside. Marlene passed away after a brief illness on June 18, 2021, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Marlene was raised on the family farm just southeast of town near Mt. Gilead. She was a 1954 graduate of Bolivar High School. Not long after high school Marlene moved to Kansas City for work and married Ronnie Lee Richards. They had two sons: Jeffery Todd and Lloyd Gene. Both boys could love no other as much as they did their mother as she was truly a guiding light within their lives.

        Marlene’s life endured many hardships in losing a son, grandson, and later a husband to automobile accidents. She always found strength in the Lord beginning at a young age when she found salvation and accepted His eternal life.

After returning to Springfield, Marlene worked in the floor covering industry. She married Darrell Dean Chapman; a union lasting over forty years.

Most knew Marlene by the grace of her infectious smile. She is best defined as a friend, genuine at heart and was someone to rely on during any circumstance. There were no strangers, especially when it came to the love of animals, in particular dogs. Marlene shared this quality with her husband and brother, Mendel Williams, as both could be counted on repeatedly for taking in stray animals.

Marlene is preceded in death by her husband, Dean; her parents; two brothers, Mendel and Charles “Chuck” Richards; a son, Jeffrey Todd; and a grandson, Ronnie Allen. She is survived by her son, Lloyd Richards; stepdaughter, Cathy Stoddard (Paul); two stepsons, Matthew and Jason Chapman; several grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Those who knew her well will always see her light shining eternally.

A Visitation for Marlene will be on Thursday, June 24, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. at Pitts Chapel in Bolivar. A funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Polk County Humane Society.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Pitts Chapel Bolivar, MO.