FNU Associate Professor and Department Chair for the Department of Family Nursing, Dr. Lisa Chappell, Ph.D., FNP-BC, CRNP, passed away on November 21, 2023. Dr. Chappell’s expertise as an educator was surpassed only by her kind and caring nature. She was a dear friend to everyone at Frontier Nursing University, and we join her family and loved ones in mourning her loss.
Obituary: Dr. Harriet Elizabeth Haynie Chappell (Lisa)
Dr. Harriet Elizabeth Haynie Chappell (Lisa) stepped into the arms of Jesus on Nov. 21, 2023, in Auburn, Alabama, after a brief illness. Lisa is preceded in death by her father, Bobby Ray Haynie, and her husband of 48 years, David Bryson Chappell. Lisa was born in Opelika on July 17, 1955. She was a lifelong resident of Opelika, leaving only briefly to live in New York. Lisa’s calling was to be a nurse. She graduated from Southern Union Community College with her LPN certificate in 1975, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Auburn University in 1992, a Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Nursing Research from the Medical College of Georgia in 2007. She worked at East Alabama Medical Center for 20 years before moving into academia. She has been with Frontier Nursing University since 2009, where she was the Associate Dean of Family Nursing. She touched the lives of hundreds of people through her nursing career and later as an educator and mentor. She was an avid reader with a large collection of books and a music lover, as well. Lisa was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, and friend. She will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her mother, Jane Leverett Haynie; two sons, John (Laurel) Chappell and Nathan (Kelly) Chappell; grandchildren, Olivia and Bryson Chappell; siblings Linda (Tom) Caudle and Rob (Carolyn) Haynie; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and loved ones.
The family wishes to thank the staff at East Alabama Medical Center and Bethany House. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Lisa’s honor to Bethany House in Auburn, AL.
While Dr. Chappell’s memory will live on in our hearts and minds forever, we also want to honor her legacy and her innumerable contributions to Frontier with a memorial on campus. The memorial will include the planting of an Appalachian Red tree and installing a memorial bench symbolically close to the heart of campus in front of the Welcome Center. Click here to give online and select Lisa Chappell Memorial in the Gift Designation drop-down menu.
Photos and Memories
We have collected some of our favorite photos of Dr. Chappell below.
Photos and Memories
We have collected some of our favorite photos of Dr. Chappell below.
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Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
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