Promoted to Glory: Lt. Colonel Doris Fizer-Chapman
Lt. Colonel Doris Fizer-Chapman was Promoted to Glory while surrounded by loved ones on November 15, 2024, just days after her 90th birthday.
Doris M. Fizer was born on Veterans Day in 1934, in Charleston, WV, to Harry and Elsie Fizer. She attended the corps there through childhood and felt the call to officership at the age of 10.
She entered the School for Officer Training in 1953 as a member of the Soul Winners session of cadets. She was commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant and sent to be the assistant officer at the Huntington Corps in West Virginia.
In 1958, her first of two corps officer appointments was to the Richmond Hill Oregon Corps. From there she joined the Training College staff as a brigade officer, followed by another corps appointment to Birmingham Citadel, AL. A number of staff posts then followed in the Arkansas-Louisiana, Texas, Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi, Georgia, and North & South Carolina Divisions. About midway through these was an appointment to the Editorial Department at Territorial Headquarters (THQ) in Atlanta.
A succession of territorial appointments followed, including assistant territorial financial secretary, insurance and risk management, and after a stint in the Florida Division as general secretary she returned to THQ as the territorial secretary for program where she helped produce the International Millennial Congress in 2000.
Lt. Colonel Fizer received Long Service Recognition for 40 years of service by the time she retired on July 1, 2003. Her officership, including serving both in active and retired capacities, spans nearly 70 years.
At age 69 she married William Roy Chapman, and together they enjoyed 20 years of a loving relationship.
In retirement, Lt. Colonel Fizer-Chapman took over the women’s ministry for the Lawrenceville Corps, and many delighted in her creative programs. She was a great example as both a leader and a resolute soldier. Many still remember her playing the valve-trombone in the corps band. The Colonel brought a sense of humor everywhere she went. Sometimes seen as a stern leader, she also had a very tender side.
The Colonel loved her Savior and spoke of Him often to others. In her final days she expressed her desire to “go home to Glory, where all my people are.”
Lt. Colonel Doris Fizer-Chapman is predeceased by her parents and her loving husband, Roy. She is survived by a son, Major Ken Chapman, as well as several grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at Tom Wages Funeral Home in Lawrenceville, with viewing at 10:00 a.m., followed by the service at 11:00. Interment will be at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.