Family History - Helen Teresa Krupowski

1. Helen Teresa Krupowski,¹ born 14 July 1920 in Montville, New London County, Connecticut, the daughter of Alexander Kropowski and Marcella ‘Mary’ Zacharowa;¹ died 26 May 2010 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.² Helen married, 14 September 1940 in Uncasville, New London County, Connecticut, Robert Elwood Chapel⁴ (born 13 April 1917 in Montville, New London County, Connecticut, the son of Robert William Chapel and Rose Anna Garrett;³ Robert died 25 May 1980 in New London, New London County, Connecticut³). Helen and Robert are buried in Comstock Cemetery, Montville, New London County, Connecticut.⁵

+	2	i.	Robert Elwood ‘Red’ Chapel, Jr., born 1 December 1942 in New London, New London County, Connecticut; died 2 December 2010 in Quaker Hill, Connecticut. Married Dale Mae Strickland.
+	3	ii.	Raymond Edward Chapel, born 17 March 1951; died 21 November 2009 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Married Patricia Lynn Hatch.
+	4	iii.	Shirley Ellen Chapel, born 8 May 1954 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Married Peter Ramsay Smith.

1. Birth Certificate, Connecticut, Yetovinia Krupowski. Certified copy in possession of Shirley (Chapel) Smith. The name ‘Helen Teresa’ was added to the certificate on 9/11/72.
2. Social Security Death Index (SSDI), Rootsweb (website). Helen T. Chapel, no. 041-07-1997
3. Death Certificate, Connecticut, Montville, Certificate No. 10 (1980), Robert E. Chapel. Copy in possession of Shirley (Chapel) Smith.
4. Marriage Certificate, State of Connecticut, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Town of Montville: Robert Elwood Chapel and Helen Teresa Krupowski. Certified copy in possession of Shirley (Chapel) Smith.
5. Email from Shirley (Chapel) Smith to Lee Gazlay 14 November 2010.
6. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith

2. Robert Elwood ‘Red’ Chapel, Jr.² (Helen¹), born 1 December 1942 in New London, New London County, Connecticut;¹ died 2 December 2010 in Quaker Hill, Connecticut.² Red married, 9 June 1962 in Waterford, New London County, Connecticut, Dale Mae Strickland⁴ (born 12 November 1942 in New London, New London County, Connecticut, the daughter of Tryon Strickland and Ethel Hubert³). Red is buried in Union Cemetery, Waterford, New London County, Connecticut.²

+	5	i.	Kenneth Wayne Chapel, born 4 June 1963. Married Dana S. Pierce (née Nygren) .
+	6	ii.	Diane Marie Chapel, born 16 August 1969 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Married (1) Donald Dale Ross Married (2) Carl Joseph Zacchara (born Dustin John Wilson).

3. Raymond Edward Chapel² (Helen¹), born 17 March 1951;⁵ died 21 November 2009 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.⁶ Raymond married, 11 May 1974 in New London, New London County, Connecticut, Patricia Lynn Hatch⁸ (born 29 November 1954, the daughter of Raymond Chester Hatch and Clara E. Waite⁷). Their marriage ended in divorce in December 1991.⁵

+	7	i.	Michael Kyle Chapel, born 26 March 1977. Married Michelle Lyn Matney.
+	8	ii.	Gregory Peter Chapel, born 21 March 1979 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Married Jennifer Lynn Sturgeon.

4. Shirley Ellen Chapel² (Helen¹), born 8 May 1954 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.⁹ Shirley married, 16 November 1974 in Quaker Hill, Connecticut, Peter Ramsay Smith (born 19 August 1953 in Glen Ridge, Essex County, New Jersey, the son of Kenneth Alesbury Smith and Eleanor A. Randle).

+	9	i.	Stephen Lawrence Smith, born 21 August 1977 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Married Dayna Marie Shoemaker.
+	10	ii.	Timothy Robert Smith, born 1 February 1981 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Partnered with (1) Amber Renee Stiles Partnered with (2) Dody Lynn Bush-Retherford (née Mitchell) (born Bush) Partnered with (3) Amanda Michelle Sanders.

1. Birth Certificate, Connecticut, Robert Elwood Chapel, Jr. Copy in possession of Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith
2. Obituary, The Day, New London, Connecticut, Robert E. Chapel, 4 December 2010.
3. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith and Dale (Strickland) Chapel
4. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith and Robert Elwood Chapel, Jr.
5. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith and Raymond Edward Chapel
6. Obituary, The Day, New London, Connecticut, Raymond Edward Chapel, 23 November, 2009.
7. Obituary, The Day, New London, Connecticut, Clara Waite Hatch, 28 December 2006.
8. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith and Patricia Lynn (Hatch) Grudier
9. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith

5. Kenneth Wayne Chapel³ (Robert ‘Red’,² Helen¹), born 4 June 1963. Kenneth married, 23 August 1992 in Waterford, New London County, Connecticut, Dana S. Pierce (née Nygren) ¹ (born 11 January 1962, parents not determined).

6. Diane Marie Chapel³ (Robert ‘Red’,² Helen¹), born 16 August 1969 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.² Diane married, first, 14 October 1989 in Quaker Hill, Connecticut, Donald Dale Ross³ (born 1 August 1967 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the son of Dennis Ross and Janet Turpel^{3, 4}). Their marriage ended in divorce in ca. 1994.⁵ Diane married, second, 24 December 2009, Carl Joseph Zacchara (born Dustin John Wilson) (born 26 March 1968 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph Anthony St. Marie and Ann Dustin Wilson^{6, 7, 8}).

+

11

i.

Kyle Robert Ross, born 13 July 1990. Partnered with Constance ‘Connie’ Moyer.

7. Michael Kyle Chapel³ (Raymond,² Helen¹), born 26 March 1977. Michael married, 23 September 2000 in Montville, New London County, Connecticut, Michelle Lyn Matney⁹ (born 11 May 1977, the daughter of Larry F. Matney and Barbara Jane Sikorski).

	12	i.	Dylan Michael Chapel, born 25 July 2002.
	13	ii.	Griffin Kyle Chapel, born 16 March 2006.

8. Gregory Peter Chapel³ (Raymond,² Helen¹), born 21 March 1979 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.⁵ Gregory married, 18 September 2004 in Waterford, New London County, Connecticut, Jennifer Lynn Sturgeon (born 18 July 1979, the daughter of Gary L. Sturgeon and Karen Morrison⁴).

14

i.

Evan Chad Chapel, born xxxx.

9. Stephen Lawrence Smith³ (Shirley,² Helen¹), born 21 August 1977 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.⁵ Stephen married, 21 May 2006 in New London, New London County, Connecticut, Dayna Marie Shoemaker⁵ (born 23 June 1978, the daughter of John David Shoemaker and Phyllis Ann Mathewson⁵).

10. Timothy Robert Smith³ (Shirley,² Helen¹), born 1 February 1981 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.⁵ Timothy partnered with, first, ca. 1998, Amber Renee Stiles⁵ (born 13 February 1984, the daughter of Matthew Lelwyn Stiles and Donna Franklin¹⁰). Timothy partnered with, second, ca. 1999, Dody Lynn Bush-Retherford (née Mitchell) (born Bush)⁵ (born 1 February 1980, the daughter of Frank Warren Bush, Jr. and Virginia R. Mitchell⁵). Timothy partnered with, third, ca. 2000, Amanda Michelle Sanders⁵ (born 26 December 1981 in New London, New London County, Connecticut, the daughter of William Sanders and Cheryl Nunes⁵).

15

i.

Julliette Renee Stiles, born 29 December 1998 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.5, 10

+

16

i.

Danilla Mitchell, born 17 February 2000 in New London, New London County, Connecticut. Married (1) Jason Paul Woods Married (2) Michael James Blecke.

17

i.

Breanna Alexis Smith, born 6 November 2000.5

1. Connecticut Marriage Index, 1959-2001, available at Ancestry.com and familysearch.org, Groom: Kenneth W. Chapel, age 29. Bride: Dana S. Pierce, age 30. Marriage Date: 23 Aug 1992. Marriage Place: Waterford, New London, Connecticut.
2. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith and Diane Marie (Chapel) Ross
3. Wedding Announcement, The Day, New London, Connecticut, Weddings, 18 March 1990
4. This is publicly viewable information found in various public information repositories, people finding websites, and/or social media.
5. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith
6. Birth Certificate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Certificate No. 97949, File No. 42169-68, Carl Joseph St. Marie, born 26 March 1968 in the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; father: Joseph Anthony St. Marie; mother: Elizabeth Anne Sprafke; date filed: 3 April 1968; date issued; 22 July 1968.
7. Record of conversation between Carl and Diane (Chapel) Zaccara, Lee and Peggy (Krupowski) Gazlay, and Shirley (Chapel) Smith, 13 August 2012. The discussion summarized information shared among these individuals over several years, both from Carl’s personal knowledge and information provided to him by his paternal grandmother.
8. According to Carl, he was known as Carl Joseph St. Marie (the name shown on his birth certificate) until his early teens, when he started using the name Carl Zacchara, that being an ancestral surname on his (step) mother’s side of the family. His legal name change was finalized on 9 December 2009. Carl’s birth father, Joseph Anthony St. Marie, married Elizabeth Ann (Sprafke) St. Marie in 1967, and Carl was raised with the belief that Elizabeth was his mother. A few years before her death in November 2011, Carl’s paternal grandmother, Ann (Casserly) St. Marie, wanted Carl to know that his birth mother is Ann Dustin Wilson, and that his birth name was Dustin John Wilson. Presuming this as fact, then Elizabeth is actually his step-mother and she apparently adopted Carl shortly after his birth; his birth certificate is likely a post-adoption certificate since it names Elizabeth as the mother. Other information on the certificate, including his birth date and place, may also be incorrect. Carl grew up with the understanding that he and his brother, Joseph Carl St. Marie, were twins; both celebrated 26 March 1968 as their birthday during their childhood. However, it appears that Carl and Joseph were half-brothers, sharing a common father and having different mothers, and it is unlikely that they were actually born on the same day.
9. Connecticut Marriage Index, 1959-2001, available at Ancestry.com and familysearch.org, Groom: Michael K. Chapel, age 23. Bride: Michelle L. Matney, age 23. Marriage Date: 23 Sep 2000. Marriage Place: Montville, New London, Connecticut.
10. Birth Certificate, Connecticut, Juliette Renee Stiles, born 29 December 1998 in New London, Connecticut. The certificate lists her mother as Amber Renee Stiles, born 13 February 1984. Copy viewed at Montville Town Hall, Connecticut.

11. Kyle Robert Ross⁴ (Diane,³ Robert ‘Red’,² Helen¹), born 13 July 1990.¹ Kyle partnered with Constance ‘Connie’ Moyer² (born 28 June 1991 in Connecticut, parents not determined²).

18

i.

Bentley Ross, born xxxx.

16. Danilla Mitchell⁴ (Timothy,³ Shirley,² Helen¹), born 17 February 2000 in New London, New London County, Connecticut.² Danilla married, first, 2017 in Neosho, Newton County, Missouri, Jason Paul Woods⁴ (born November 1976, parents not determined³). Their marriage ended in divorce in 2019 in Melbourne, Izard County, Arkansas.⁴ Danilla married, second, 16 June 2022 in Norfork, Baxter County, Arkansas, Michael James Blecke^{3, 4} (born June 1979, parents not determined³).

19

i.

Zinnia Woods, born xxxx.

	20	i.	Ava Rose Mitchell-Bleche, born xxxx.
	21	ii.	Naomi Grace Blecke, born xxxx.

1. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith and Diane Marie (Chapel) Ross
2. Information provided from personal knowledge by Shirley Ellen (Chapel) Smith
3. This is publicly viewable information found in various public information repositories, people finding websites, and/or social media.
4. Email between D. Mitchell and Lee Gazlay, March 2024.