Mark was singular and special from a very young age. He grew up, the youngest of three children and the only boy, in Beckenham, near London, UK. Encouraged by his father, the science editor of a national Sunday newspaper, Mark developed, at a young age, a passion for chemistry. Performing chemical experiments became a favorite hobby; his parents never forgot the time he blew up the greenhouse in their garden (no lives lost). His life-long interest in space travel and the universe began in his teens – possibly inspired in the late 1960s when his father was regularly jetting off to cover the latest Apollo launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Mark studied chemistry in the School of Molecular Sciences at Sussex University and obtained his Master's at Greenwich University. During this time, he taught chemistry to high school students and worked as a laboratory technician for a pharmaceutical company. Ultimately moving into IT, he joined American Express, where he worked for more than 30 years, and finally, as a Senior Software Architect in the US. One colleague commented that the vast knowledge and expertise Mark contributed to multiple technical transformations at American Express “would be hard-pressed to find a match there or anywhere.” Another added: “When you think of the friendships you make during work hours, you can feel blessed and fortunate to have met and worked with people like Robert Chapman.” For Mark (as we knew him) was immensely loved and respected. He was a truly wonderful man who adored his family – just the very best husband and a dad to Nathaniel and Maddy – enthusiastic, loving, supportive, and very, very smart.
His lifelong love of learning was disparate and embraced so much – riding and rebuilding motorbikes, painting, scuba diving, and traveling – to mention a few. Plus his own individual projects, such as building a Dr. Who Tardis in the garden, which was characteristic of his imaginative and enterprising nature. At home, he was also among the many volunteers involved in the SETI program and an avid reader of books by authors such as Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, and Stephen Hawking. He loved sci-fi books, films such as Star Trek, and the TV series Firefly, too, which is why his next journey with Enterprise into space is so perfect for him, something he would never have believed possible, but would have absolutely adored.
A huge thank you to everyone whose generous donations have made this journey possible; it fulfills Mark’s every wish to travel to the stars and beyond!
