Della Mae Chapman went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Friday, July 17, 2026 at 98 years of age.

Celebration of Life: 4:00 p.m., Sunday, July 26, 2026, Biggers Funeral Chapel, 6100 Azle Avenue, Lake Worth, Texas 76135.

Committal: 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Littlefield Cemetery, Littlefield, Texas

Visitation: 3:00 p.m., prior to the Celebration of Life.

Della was born Sept 13, 1927, in a dugout on her grandparent's farm in Lamb County, Texas. She was the daughter of Owen and Grace Ball. She and her family worked hard to survive the "Great Depression" and the "Dust Bowl Years". She graduated from Littlefield High School in 1944. Soon after graduating, and working in a local drug store, she met and married a young Marine named Jimmie Chapman who was returning from 3 years in the WWII Pacific theater. They started their life together that would last 57 years until Jimmie passed in 2002. That union produced 3 children that kept Della busy until the end. She never stopped looking out for her children.

Della was a certified descendant of the Texas "Old Three Hundred," three hundred grantees who purchased Mexican land from Stephen F. Austin between 1823 and 1825. These were the first settlers from the U.S. in Texas. Della loved her country and paid close attention to everything going on in the world right up to her final days.

Della is survived by her daughter, Margaret Ruecker and husband, Mike of Weatherford, Texas; her son, John Henry Chapman of Ventura, California; her son, Duke Chapman and wife, Elaine of Pensacola, Florida; her brother, Max Ball and wife, Monte of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas; and her nephew, Lonnie Stafford and wife, Debra of Denver, Colorado; along with many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews and nieces.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Owen and Gracie Ball; her husband and five more siblings, Evelyn McBee, James Ball, Alvin Ball, Bobby Ball, and Morris Ball.

She will be buried next to her beloved husband, Jimmie, in the family plot in Littlefield, Texas.