Mary Ann Gerwig Chapman, Beloved Professor, Passes Away

Mary Ann Guthrie Gerwig Chapman, 70, a beloved retired professor in the Department of English passed away on Sunday, January 12, 2020 from pancreatic cancer. Chapman’s late husband, Edward “Bo” Chapman passed in 2014 and was an equally dear member of the Frostburg State University community.

Chapman leaves behind her daughter, Jean Chandler Glass Chapman and son-in-law Dane Sammis.

Mary Ann was born in Baltimore in 1949 to John R. Gerwig, Jr. and Jean Knipp Gerwig. She attended St. Paul’s School for Girls in Baltimore before progressing to Hollins College in Roanoke, VA, where she received both her undergraduate and Master’s degrees, according to her obituary.

Colleagues in the English department and across campus will remember Mary Ann fondly. “She was the most genuinely kind person I’ve ever known,” says Stacey Utley-Bernhardt, an Executive Administrative Assistant in the College of Business. “She always had a kind word that included ‘Breathe. Relax. Love yourself, you are doing great.'”

Chair of the English Department, Dr. Sydney Duncan says that, “From gifts of glitter, to helping students and colleagues through difficult times, to providing food at every kind of occasion, Mary Ann was always nurturing someone else.”

As a new faculty member, Dr. Jill Morris was given an office directly across the hall from Mary Ann. “I didn’t really know how lucky that was, though,” says Dr. Morris, “It’s hard for new faculty to jump in and get involved, but she immediately set me up to participate in a production we were putting on to raise money for the Creative Writing Center.”

A lover of theatre and creative writing, Mary Ann often directed for the stage. In 2015, she directed an original play written by her colleague, Dr. Mary Anne Lutz. In 2018, she was a director for FSU’s One-Act Play Festival. She could always be called upon to organize a film series or lecture to local public schools.

As a colleague, Mary Ann was known as a confidant and source of reassurance. “She had a sense for when things were getting stressful and would drop off a unicorn rubber duck in my office–really I never knew when I’d get a gift from my faculty godmother,” says Dr. Morris.

Dr. Duncan agrees, “She was a very intuitive person” and that Mary Ann “had a real gift for noticing when students who might need more encouragement or support.”

Alongside her husband Bo who served as rector of the Emmanuel Parish of the Episcopal Church in Cumberland, Maryland, Mary Ann volunteered countless hours to the church she loved. Together they designed a yearly bible school program, cooked hundreds of meals, and spearheaded countless projects. According to Mary Ann’s obituary, she served the Episcopal Church at both the diocesan and national levels.

Mary Ann was a classics scholar, well known for her love of Latin and Dante. “She even led tours to Italy!” says Dr. Duncan.

Mary Ann was best known for her wit, wisdom, and work ethic. Wildly charming and endlessly talented, her legacy on Frostburg’s campus runs far deeper than her 25 years as a professor. “She was a gifted teacher who, when things were not going well in the classroom, could adapt to accommodate student interest and leaning styles. She was creative and lively, and she loved her students,” says Dr. Duncan.

Dr. Morris echos this sentiment, “Even after she retired, any day that she visited campus was special because we all loved her that much and she loved us too.”

Friends will be received at the Upchurch Funeral Home, P.A., 202 Greene Street, Cumberland, on Saturday, Jan. 18 from 6-8 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 4:00 p.m. at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 16 Washington Street, Cumberland.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are made to The Claggett Center, P.O. Box 40, Buckeystown, MD 21717 or at www.claggettcenter.org.