Obituary of John C. Chapura

John C. Chapura, 84, of Apalachin, passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. He was born in Nanticoke, PA to John A. Chapura and Helen Sopinski. John was predeceased by his wife of 44 years, Frances “Nancy” Chapura; sister, Irene Makara, two brothers, Leonard Chapura and Francis Chapura, and brothers-in-law, John Koloski and Philip Makara, and sister-in-law, Rita Chapura. He loved Nancy so very much. He is survived by his three sons and daughters-in-law, John R. Chapura and Cindy Dawson-Chapura, Christopher Chapura, Michael and Justine Chapura; five grandchildren, Carissa Lynn, John, David , Gillian, Samuel; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Helen and Robert Bonar, Theresa; sisters-in-law, Shirley Chapura and Wendy Chapura; numerous nieces and nephews. John was a Korean War Veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was a Penn State graduate and also went to Elmira College for courses. He retired from IBM Owego where he worked as defense contract coordinator (the boys loved when he traveled because there were always trip trinkets to enjoy; like an LA Kings puck that was then handed down to succeeding sons) and in his retirement worked for St. Margaret Mary Church. John loved spending time with his family (especially his grandkids and badminton) and playing golf with all his golfing buddies. He was a great do-it-yourselfer - teaching his sons many ways to tackle a problem. In his younger years, he was a tremendous softball pitcher, winning many league games at the Owego IBM Club. He was very generous to many charities. He loved traveling back to Nanticoke and visiting his relatives – it brought him a lot of happiness. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 4, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Church, 1110 Pennsylvania Ave., Apalachin, NY. The family will receive friends Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Estey, Munroe & Fahey Funeral Home, 15 Park St., Owego, NY. Condolences may be made to John’s family at www.emfaheyfuneralhome.com.