Niles D. Chapman, MD, emeritus associate clinical professor of thoracic surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, died May 13. He was 89.

Chapman, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, was born in Houston and raised in Butte, Montana, during the Great Depression. As a teenager, he worked in the family business, Chappy’s Potato Chips, before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1946. After his service, he graduated from Montana State College, where he was the state middleweight wrestling champion in 1951.

While earning his medical degree from the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle, Chapman met his future wife of 64 years, Patricia J. McGinty. After stops in Great Falls, Montana, and La Jolla, the growing family settled in Los Angeles, where Chapman practiced medicine at several area hospitals. He established the Surgical Nursing Excellence Award at Northridge Hospital and was a member of The Halstead Society. At the Keck School, Chapman established the Lyman A. Brewer, III, M.D. Thoracic Surgery Visiting Professor Speakership.

In retirement, Chapman took great pleasure in sharing his medical knowledge as a mentor, in traveling the world, and in attending concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, USC football games and annual family trips for the Fourth of July. He is survived by his wife Pat; four children Julie, Dan, Lisa and Jim, and their spouses David, Liz and Stan; and five grandchildren, Kate, Anna, Tab, Julia and Tyler.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. May 25 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills, Red Chapel, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Surgical Nursing Excellence Award.