Chappell F. Nelson died on June 19, 2024, in Brunswick, Maine.

(The following was provided by a notice from President Safa Zaki on June 20, 2024:)

From: President Zaki
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2024

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

I am sorry to write with very sad news. We learned this morning that our colleague Chap Nelson, manager of equipment services in athletics, died yesterday. A 1982 graduate of Colby College, Chap had served as equipment manager at his alma mater since 1985 before coming to Bowdoin in 2016.

In addition to that role at Colby, he was assistant baseball coach for the Mules for over twenty years. A longtime member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association, Chap served in various roles in the State of Maine Baseball Umpires Association and regional associations for more than three decades. He was known across the state for his skills as an umpire.

During his time at Bowdoin, Chap was instrumental in developing new policies and procedures in our equipment room, helped design the equipment room space in the Revers Center, and transitioned our uniform and equipment inventory management system to an electronic records platform. I am told that Chap preferred to work behind the scenes and that he took great pride in doing many of the little things that helped enhance the experience of Bowdoin athletes and coaches.

Chap earned a master’s degree from The Ohio State University and was, says Ashmead White Director of Athletics Tim Ryan, “a bit of a legend in the equipment room community in the NESCAC.” Tim went on to say, “Chap was exceptional in his role as our equipment manager, which often consisted of early morning and late evening hours in support of our staff and students. He always found a way to make people around him laugh, and he will be missed by us at Bowdoin and by his many friends at Colby, a community he cared for dearly.”

Our hearts go out to all of those friends and especially to Chap’s family. I know you join me in offering them, his colleagues in our athletics department, and the many athletes and coaches who depended on him our deepest condolences.