Dula Elizabeth (Ecker) Chapel
Marriages
Norva Chapel - April 16, 1947
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D Obituary - April 3, 2016
Dula Chapel
May 10, 1923 - March 24, 2016
Dula Elizabeth (Ecker)
Chapel passed away on March
24, 2016, at the age of 92.
Dula was born May 10,
1923, and grew up on a farm
in Madison, MN. She was the
youngest of 13 children born
to Nick and Minnie (Trapp)
Ecker. Dula attended St.
Michael’s Catholic School for
eight years and completed the
next four years at Madison Public High School, where she
graduated in 1941. She then went on to attend Bartron Hospital
School of Nursing in Watertown, SD, successfully graduating as
a Registered Nurse in 1945. During that training, she was also
enrolled in the Cadet Nursing Corps, a program designed to
train nurses to care for citizens at home and abroad during
World War II.
Dula worked as a registered nurse in Minnesota and Iowa
before arriving in Colorado in 1946. She worked at the original
St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver. During the summer and fall of
1946, she was a polio nurse at Children’s Hospital in Denver. It
was at this time that Dula met her future husband, Norva
Chapel, who was a pharmacist.
Dula and Norva were married in Denver on April 16, 1947.
They lived in Glenwood Springs, Durango, and South Dakota
before settling in Grand Junction in the fall of 1950. Norva was
employed at Campus Drug on 10th and North Ave. for many
years. He and Dula had three sons, Ron, Steve and Tom. These
three sons, and eventually her grandchildren, Jessica, Josh and
Luke became a primary focus in Dula’s life. Unfortunately,
Norva passed away in October 1983 as a result of COPD.
Dula continued to live in the house the family built in 1951,
surrounded by pictures of her husband, children and their
families, and by paintings and sculptures created by her oldest
son, Ron, who became a successful sculptor. Dula also kept up
her training and interest in nursing, and worked as an assistant
clinic nurse in St. Mary’s Hospital Cancer Clinic from 1960 –
1967. She also worked in the Mesa County Public Health
Clinic. In 1967 Dula began working as a school nurse for the
Mesa County School District #51, spending the next 22 years in
the schools in the east end of the Valley.
Dula retired in 1989 at the age of 66. Her hobbies and interests
centered on her home and family. Reading and baking were
special passions of hers. She was also an avid Bronco fan,
especially during the John Elway years. She was a prolific letter
writer, remembering her family and friends with letters and
cards for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions.
In later years, many of these cards were written and designed on
her home computer, which became an interest of hers at age 80,
through the encouragement of her sons. She liked keeping in
touch with nieces and nephews via email and mastered the
Internet by the age of 84. At age 90 she began reading novels on
a Kindle Fire HD; unfortunately failing eyesight due to the
development of Macular Degeneration at the age of 91 forced
her to abandon many of her favorite activities.
Dula’s faith was lifelong. She was a charter member of
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church and volunteered at
the church in later years where she made many new friends. She
was also a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters in
Minnesota, Mesa County Retired School Employees
Association, and AARP.
Dula leaves three sons and their wives, Ron and Vanessa,
living in Guanajuato, Mexico; Steve and Steph of Grand
Junction, and Tom and Donna of Fort Collins. Her
grandchildren include Jessica (Casey) Dean, Josh Chapel, and
Luke (Kim) Violett, and four great-grandsons, Timothy,
William, Luke Jr., and Lane, and one great-granddaughter,
Chase, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Dula was preceded in death by her parents, Nick and Minnie
Ecker; her husband, Norva, five brothers and seven sisters.
Funeral services are to be held at Immaculate Heart of Mary
Catholic Church on Wednesday, April 6th at 10:00 a.m. with
burial beside her husband at the Orchard Mesa Veterans
Cemetery. Viewing and visitation will be held the night before
from 5 - 7:00 p.m. with the Rosary following at Callahan-Edfast
Mortuary with Deacon Doug Van Houton presiding.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Immaculate Heart
of Mary Church for masses to be said for Dula or to HopeWest
Hospice.
