Marie (Marnie) Truscott Chapman ³⁵²

  General Notes:

CD-ROM gives marriage name as Maris Truscott Chapman. Lived Sunnybank in Brisbane.

  Research Notes:

Jim Truscott notes:
Marie Truscott Chapman was born on 23 October 1920 at Woollahra. She was affectionately called Marnie by many people. From 1924 to 1930 the family lived at Burnside in Adelaide, South Australia. There, they kept milking cows, chooks, pigs, Irish setter dogs, rabbits, cats and a goose. During the 1930 Recession Percy was forced to move back to Sydney in search of a job. They lived at 6th Avenue in Eastwood, where Marie went to Eastwood Public School.

During the winter of 1931, Marie's mother developed pleurisy and pneumonia, she was very sick and, after she recovered, her father decided it was the cold winds on the top of the hill which were partly responsible, so they moved down the hill to Florence Avenue, West Ryde. This house was much better; the backyard was level, so Percy was able to grow plenty of vegetables and, as there was vacant ground on all sides of the house, they were able to have a cow (which Marie had to tether out each morning before going to school) and also quite a few chooks, which gave them eggs to sell and trade for chook food. Unfortunately, Ola's health continued to decline. By the time Carol was born in 1932, Marie and Nessa had to care for the baby as Ola was too sick after giving birth. By 1933 she was so sick with TB that the family moved to Deepwater where the climate, according to the doctors, was better for her health. Percy owned the Deepwater Newsagency. Nessa, Marie and Beth went to Deepwater Public School. They enjoyed having Sunday roast dinners with Grandma Truscott.

In 1933 Marie was the Dux of Deepwater School and passed her high school entrance exam. Although she was top in her small class, Marie left school after eighth grade to look after Carol and the house as her mum was too ill. Ola died in April 1936 and Percy died in 1939. The sisters continued to live at the house. Mr Pass arrived and took over the shop. While Nessa continued to run the shop, Marie took over the housework and the care of little Carol.

From the early 1930s, Percy Chapman (Newsagent) and Charles Parsons (Publican) were good friends in Deepwater and Percy encouraged Marie to consider a friendship with his friend's son, Johnny Parsons. Marie married Mervyn John Parsons on 19th April 1941 at Mosman in Sydney and they moved back to Deepwater to manage the Commercial Hotel, owned by Johnny's father. There they ran the pub for 18 months before Johnny started driving trucks. Percival and Johnny were good mates. In 1943-49 Marie and Johnny lived at the Commercial hotel at Deepwater where Johnny was the manager. In1954 they lived in Young Street in Deepwater where Johnny was a carrier.

In 1943 Marie and Johnny left the pub to move to Young St, Deepwater. Evalyn had been born in 1942 and Terry John arrived in 1945. Sadly, their next child, Brian, lived only a short while. He was born and died in 1946 and was buried with Marie's mother in the Emmaville Cemetery. Roger James was born in 1948 and Brenda Carol in 1950. Marie and Johnny remained in the home at Young Street until they retired to Brisbane in the early 1970s taking with them their youngest son, Derek, who was born in 1961 and who attended Primary and Secondary School and, later University in Brisbane.

When he left the pub, Johnny bought a carrying business that serviced the local businesses in Deepwater and Emmaville. He also carted wool and livestock for the surrounding properties and had the mail run to Emmaville and Bonshaw. Consequently he was frequently away from home; it was not uncommon for him to work for four or five days on end. Marie became the backstay of the business. She was secretary, receptionist, accountant, mother to four growing children, Treasurer of the Deepwater Public School P&C and occasional driver when Johnny was too busy. As well as the carrying business, Marie and Johnny owned and ran two picture theatres, one in Deepwater and the other in Emmaville. With four and, later five, children, Johnny claimed it was cheaper to own the theatre than pay for them to go to the movies. In this business, too, Marie was a powerhouse. While Evalyn sold tickets, Brenda was the usherette and Terry and Roger the projectionists, Marie was the bouncer. Albeit only 5'2", she terrified the Emmaville thugs who, the bane of the general populace, were lambs in the picture theatre. After Johnny picked up two love seats from Newcastle and set them up at the back of the theatre, Marie zealously stalked their occupants with her torch to ensure "there was no hanky-panky going on".

That Marie did so much driving for the carrying business was ironical as she always claimed to be "the world's worst driver"! They owned a 1957 V8 Ford Customline that Marie drove on the mail runs and used, with trailer attached, to deliver beer to the two pubs in Deepwater. She had little idea about gears except that she needed to make two changes. She would start in top gear, rev the engine until the car grudgingly hopped a few metres, change down to second and then immediately back to top gear. "I used to take the four children blackberrying, and Uncle Jim would come too. One day, I was in the old car and Uncle Jim was coming towards me, and it was a matter of hitting Uncle Jim or the tree. So I hit the tree and the four little kids fell off the back seat and all started crying. They got a good smack for their troubles. When the chap came along to get us off the tree he said, 'I'll push it downhill, Marie, just put it into reverse.' I said, 'I don't know how to put it into reverse gear,' and he replied, 'How do you back up, then?' 'I always go frontwards!'" Marie was a woman of many passions. She was decisive but could change her mind quickly when it mattered. Johnny, always a lover of new gadgets, brought home the first television in the district in 1956. Marie immediately banned it from the house. Johnny and the boys, Terry and Roger, spent several fruitless hours trying to pick up a signal from an antenna on the truck shed roof, before begging for just a few minutes inside to see if the rabbit ears would work better there. At last they saw something through the snow \endash news, broadcast from Tasmania! Marie sat transfixed in front of the picture, her pea shelling forgotten in her lap, and, to the day she died, was never far from a television.

Marie was always keen on sport. She played hockey, A-grade tennis and golf as a young person; never mind that she only ever played backhand shots in tennis and never managed to get a golf ball off the ground no matter what club she used. Marie even got to play tennis against Lew Hoad when he came to play exhibition games in Glen Innes. She never swam overarm, only ever using breaststroke. Both Marie and Johnny were still playing tennis in their 70s. Johnny retired from his trucking business in 1971-2. They then lived in Sunnybank, Queensland.

If Marie had any regrets it was not making it to her 80th birthday party and missing the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She died of heart failure on 17 August 2000 and her ashes are interred at Mount Gravatt Garden Cemetery. Johnny passed away soon after on 12 May 2002 (Mother's Day) in Brisbane, Queensland also due to heart failure.