Rick Chappell

Ricky Lee Chappell, 68, of Nampa, Idaho passed Monday November 22, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He will be greatly missed by family and friends. Rick was born January 17, 1953, in Great Falls, Montana. He came from a large family with five sisters, Fay (Bob) Dozier, Kathy (Lou) Dewarle, Sandy (David) Cumpiano, Brenda Horne, and Rhonda (Barry) Mills and a brother Brad Chappell.

Rick graduated from Great Falls High School in 1971 where he designed the school logo and mascot. After studying at Eastern Idaho Technical College, he was employed by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Arco, Idaho as a health physics technician for 25 years. He met the love of his life, Julie L. Summers, waiting for the work bus one morning in October. Their first date was the INL Christmas party on December 6, 1991. They fell fast in love and were engaged by Christmas that year, starting a love of Hallmark movies.  Rick and Julie wed on June 6, 1992, combining their families together. Together they had four children, Brandi Chappell, James (Brittiny) Gyorfy, Jennifer (Tyson) Wheeler, and Alexandra Chappell.

One of Rick’s greatest joys in life was camping every possible weekend with his family and beloved dogs. After buying their first camp trailer in the summer of 1993, Rick and Julie camped every weekend and every single weekend, it rained. They didn’t mind. They continued to have new adventures every time. Many of Rick’s family’s fondest memories are from camping; catching and losing the biggest fish ever, the dogs sheep herding, building doll houses out of rocks and sticks, and singing songs by the fire.

Besides camping, Rick was involved in several other outlets. He coached the youth bowling league for 20 years, helping several children make friends and learn how to throw a hook. He was a member of the Corvette club for 7 years, owning two Corvettes: a red 2003 C5 and an ocean blue 2008 C6.  He was a great dancer; he did line dancing at the Eagle’s with Julie for 3 years. He was a huge sports fan, mostly of the Dallas Cowboys. He was able to go see his team in action twice: once at the 2008 Pro Bowl in Hawaii and again at the Dallas, Texas, home game in 2011, with seating just four rows from the field. Rick was also a strong survivor, battling cancer in 2010 and beating it in 2011. He emerged with a new passion for cooking and family get-togethers where he was the grill master and a talented chef.

Rick lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho, until 2014 when he retired from the INL and moved to Nampa, Idaho, to care for his mother in-law, Sondra Summers. He took up membership as a Treasurer at the Elks Lodge in 2015, serving the club in a variety of ways, including a lot of fantastic cooking.

Rick is preceded in death by his parents and in-laws. He is survived by his wife, his siblings, his children and five grandchildren.

There will be a viewing on Thursday December 2nd, 2021, at 5:00pm at Alsip Funeral Home, 404 10th Ave S. Nampa, Id.  A graveside service will be held on Friday December 3rd, 2021, at 11:00 am at the Kohlerlawn Cemetery in Nampa, ID, with a reception and luncheon following at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 927 Ruth Lane in Nampa, Idaho.

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