In Memoriam: Maryan Chapin

CHAPIN, Maryan Fox of Georgetown, Maine formerly of Cambridge, Massachusetts, died peacefully on July 6, 2016 at the age of 83; she was surrounded by her family. Maryan Chapin, daughter of Louis Rodman and Mary Catherine Cannon Fox was born in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1933. She attended the Westover School and graduated from Vassar College in 1954. She married Rick Chapin in 1956 and they raised four children in the home they built in Cambridge; her beloved husband passed away in 2013. Maryan and Rick moved to Georgetown, ME in 1987 where they quickly became loved by the community through their countless non-profit activities and their kind and generous spirit. Maryan’s love of music, art and literature led her to New York City in 1954 where she found employment at the New Yorker Magazine working as the personal assistant to E.B. White and James Thurber. As a gifted pianist, Maryan’s musical talent helped her type out the countless manuscripts produced by Mr. White and Mr. Thurber. In Cambridge, Maryan was active with a number of non-profit organizations, serving as a Trustee of the Longy School of Music from 1974-1975; as President, Chairman and co-founder of the New School of Music from 1976-1977; as a member of the Board of Directors of Young Audiences of Massachusetts from 1976-1983, and as their Chairman from 1980-1982; as a member of the Advisory Board of the Wheelock College Family Theatre from 1985-1992; as a member of the Board of Overseers of the New England Conservatory of Music from 1987-1992; as Financial Controller for Chapin’s Market from 1986-1988; and as a member of the Board of the Lark Society for Chamber Music from 1997-2004. Maryan was a gifted songwriter and wrote music for fundraising events for the Vincent Club of Boston and Shady Hill School in Cambridge. In 1994, Maryan became a Trustee of the Bowdoin International Music Festival, serving until her death; assuming the role of Chairman from 1997-1999 and guiding her beloved Festival through the many challenges that came with its growth and success. She also served as Treasurer of the Richards Library in Georgetown, ME. Maryan shared a love of the Maine coast with her husband, and they spent their summers sailing Penobscot Bay with their children and grandchildren. She will be missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her children, Aldus H. Chapin II and his wife Esther, Margery C. Carr and her husband Gordon, Marya C. Lundgren and her husband Scott, and Richard D. Chapin and his wife Kristen; and grandchildren Jeremiah and Grace Chapin, Charlotte and Cannon Carr, Cora and Eric Lundgren, and Christopher and Henry Chapin.

A private burial will be held on Thursday, July 14, followed by an open reception for all who loved her at The Harvest in Cambridge at 12:30 pm. A memorial service will be held at the Bowdoin College Chapel on the campus of Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, ME on Saturday, July 16 at 11 am, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Maryan Chapin Memorial Scholarship Fund, benefiting the Bowdoin International Music Festival, 6300 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011