Rev. Dr. William E. Chapman, formerly of Hillsdale, NJ, died June 5, 2025, at age 92 in Bridgewater, NJ. He had been in hospice care.

A lifelong Presbyterian, Bill was an ordained minister, religion professor, polity scholar and author.

A private family celebration of Bill's life will be held in New Jersey in July.

Bill was born in Lansing, MI and graduated from Eastern High School in 1951. He majored in history at The College of Wooster, earning a B.A. in 1955. At Princeton Theological Seminary, he earned his B.D. in 1958, M.R.E. in 1962, and Ph.D. in 1969.

Bill held pastoral positions in Doylestown, PA; Carter Lake, IA; and Neenah, WI. He worked in the Office of Research in the Presbyterian Church (USA) Board of Christian Education in Philadelphia, PA, from 1968 to 1972.

He was an assistant professor in the Religion Department at McMurry College in Abilene, TX, from 1972 to 1977 and served as a campus pastor and professor in the Department of Biblical Literature at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, from 1977 to 1983. His time in Texas included numerous preaching and ministerial opportunities within Palo Duro Union Presbytery.

Bill returned to the Northeast to work as Executive Secretary of the PC(USA) Presbyteries Committee on Ordination Examinations in New York City from 1983 to 1990. He was an adjunct professor in Presbyterian polity at Princeton Theological Seminary and New Brunswick Theological Seminary from 1991 to 2001. He served as Stated Clerk for Palisades Presbytery from 2001 to 2004.

In his later years, Bill wrote several books on Presbyterian polity, all of which were published by Witherspoon Press. He also served as an expert witness in many church court cases.

Bill was the love of his wife Zitta's life. They were married for 41 years. Together, they enjoyed traveling, cooking, attending concerts, doing crossword puzzles, reading, spending time with friends and family and doing volunteer work in their community and through their church.

Bill's surviving family members include his wife Zitta Chapman of Bridgewater, NJ (formerly of Hillsdale, NJ), daughter Kay Williams (and her husband Stuart), son Tim Chapman (and his wife Sherry), granddaughters Rachael Boren and Leah Boren, grandsons Eric Chapman and Justin Chapman, and step-grandchildren Angel Morrison (and her husband Cameron), Aiden Linch and Cody Linch, all of Lubbock, TX.

The family suggests memorial donations to Princeton Theological Seminary, the Alzheimer's Association or Community Care Hospice in Somerville, NJ.