Linda Cook
Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa
RIVERDALE, Iowa — A determined young volunteer woman whose dream was to become a firefighter will be greatly missed by the Riverdale fire crew.
Firefighter Analiese Chapman, 20, of LeClaire, who had cystic fibrosis, died Sunday at University Hospitals, Iowa City.
On Monday night, area fire departments lined the route along Interstate 80 as Chapman’s body was returned home, staging on the overpasses when the procession passed. The fire trucks and other emergency vehicles then joined the back of the procession.
Among those joining the procession were the Patriot Guard riders.
“I will remember her for her strength and willingness, just to keep going,” Riverdale Assistant Fire Chief Brian Ballard said Sunday night.
“She never let this disease get her down,” he said.
Chapman’s father, Firefighter Greg Chapman, had been a firefighter for 30 years for LeClaire. In the Riverdale Fire Department Facebook tribute to Analiese Chapman, her gear is right next to his.
Greg Chapman joined the Riverdale crew after his daughter joined in November 2017, Ballard said.
“She joked around with everybody, pulled pranks on people,” Ballard said. “She was a go-getter. She was a very, very strong girl, probably the strongest girl I’ve ever known.”
“She used to come up to me and say, ‘Can I go drive the truck, chief?’” Ballard remembers. “She wanted to learn. She wanted to train. She did water fights.”
https://www.facebook.com/davenportfiredept/photos/a.965419430324209/1291672704365545/?type=3&theater
“As I understand it, her entire life, she always wanted to be a member of the fire department,” Riverdale Mayor Mike Bawden said.
“She is getting a full-blown escort back from the University of Iowa,” Ballard said. “We’re going to give her a full-blown escort.”
“Every single bridge is going to be lined up with fire trucks,” he said. “That was one of her wishes and that’s what she’s going to get.”
The Facebook tribute reads, in part:
“Firefighter (Analiese) Chapman was blessed with a lung transplant in 2019 and unfortunately became ill this past December.
“Firefighter Chapman will always, and forever be a firefighter and part of the Riverdale Fire Department family. We ask everyone to please keep the Chapman family and the brothers and sisters of the Riverdale Fire Department in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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©2020 Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa