A close friend of the late Barbara Chapman has paid tribute to the “inspirational and exceptional” retired teacher and Guide leader, who was a memorable influence on so many young lives.

Miss Chapman, formerly from Newtownbutler, passed away peacefully on May 25 at the Colorado Residential Home Lisnaskea at the age of 96.

“She was enthusiastic and great fun. She loved the girls, both the girls that she taught and the girls that she worked with through Guiding. She had a great love of the outdoors, she loved her dogs, I could go on and on,” shared Sue Hogg, describing her close friend Miss Chapman.

Miss Chapman was born in Derbyshire in 1924. At three months old she moved with her family to Forfey, Lisnaskea. As a child she was taught at Lurganboy House in Newtownbutler before attending Collegiate Prep from the age of seven, ending up as Head Girl in 1942.

She went on to Alexandra College in Dublin to train as a teacher for three very happy years and in 1945 moved back to England to teach at Ladybank House, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire for two years before returning to Enniskillen Collegiate Prep in 1947. She taught P1/Kindergarten there until 1972 when she transferred to the Model Primary, where she continued to teach until her retirement in 1986.

“Teaching was her life and she was a wonderful teacher,” said Mrs. Hogg, commenting that Miss Chapman was a memorable influence on so many young lives.

“She was inspirational and exceptional. In fact I had a Zoom call with some friends and we were talking about her and they would have had their children taught by her. They just said that she gave them such a good start in school. She was like a mother to them all and she did different things. She always had chicks in an incubator and everybody remembered Barbara’s chicks. I think the children felt very secure with her and she has never been forgotten. Families talk about her still as the inspirational start that their children got,” shared Mrs. Hogg.

When she returned to Enniskillen in 1947, Miss Chapman also joined the Guide Association, encouraged by her long time friend, Anne Loane. She took over the Captaincy of 2nd Enniskillen Guides, the Collegiate Guides and remained as such until 1976.

“She was very committed to what Guiding stood for. The Guide Law and the Promise were very important to her,” noted Mrs. Hogg.

It was through Guiding that Mrs. Hogg first met Miss Chapman, which was the start of their lasting friendship.

“She was actually my District Commissioner when I was County Commissioner,” explained Mrs. Hogg, continuing: “I came in 1974 to live in the county and I think I became County Commissioner in 1978 so I wasn’t very long here and she was my District Commissioner and she really was so good to me, showing me the ropes and showing me Fermanagh which is not easy in the beginning when you come to live here. She was a really lovely person.”

“I went on to do other things in Guiding and she was just always there at my back. She was a great support and a very wise head. I would have always kept in touch and visited her,” Mrs. Hogg added.

When asked what she will miss about her friend, Mrs. Hogg shared: “She’s left a huge gap in my life because I had the care of her. When somebody like that goes, you miss the contact and even though she wasn’t very well, I knew the key words to say to her and I would always have got a reaction.

“She was always interested in Guiding, and I always took her flowers. She loved flowers and I always felt that if she had flowers, she’d know I’d been.”

Miss Chapman’s memorial service and burial of ashes will take place at a later date arranged by Dowler Funeral Services.

“Barbara was a legend in her own time for her work with children and girls, whom she loved. She set standards, she had great integrity and the Guide Promise and Law stood at the heart of everything she did. She was also warm, funny, fun to be with, thoroughly enjoyed a party and is so fondly remembered by her ‘girls’ (who are now grandmothers!), leaders and her wide circle of friends,” shared Mrs. Hogg.

She added that the ultimate tribute to Miss Chapman would be to say that she was a good Guide: “She did her best, she was a good and generous friend.

“She had great talents and abilities which she put to good effect in everything she touched, but particularly in her work with young people.”