Dr. Isabelle A. Chapello; 1921-2013: Luna Pier recruited doctor for community

12/28/2013

Dr. Isabelle A. Chapello, a physician who cared for generations of Luna Pier residents and was a longtime staff member of the former Parkview Hospital in Toledo and of the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office, died Monday in Merit House, a retirement and nursing facility in To-ledo. She was 92 and had cancer, niece Deanna Boling said.

Dr. Chapello moved to Merit House about 2½ years ago. She had lived in Erie since the early 1970s with her sister, the late Irene Urban.

She arrived in Luna Pier some years earlier, recruited by the community, her niece said. She was the town doctor — that was part of the arrangement, her niece said — and had living quarters at the clinic where she had her practice.

“She kind of reminded you of the old country doctor,” Luna Pier Mayor Dave Davison said. She delivered babies and treated patients. When Mr. Davison joined the Luna Pier police force in 1974, Dr. Chapello performed his physical exam. He later was a sheriff’s deputy and recalled her work with the county medical examiner’s office.

“She was well-liked as a doctor. She was very thorough,” Mr. Davison said.

Dr. Chapello was affiliated with the medical examiner’s office for about 30 years. She was a former chief deputy medical examiner and was interim chief medical examiner for nearly a year after the 1998 retirement of Dr. David Lieberman, who held the office for 22 years.

She had a general practice, delivered many babies, and specialized in manipulative therapy. She was a fellow of the American Academy of Osteopathy and joined the Parkview Hospital staff in 1956.

“If you went to her with a problem, she did everything in her power, everything in her knowledge to fix it,” her niece said. Some manipulative therapy sessions lasted several hours.

“She didn’t stop until she was satisfied she addressed whatever problem it was. She never took the fast and easy route,” her niece said. “She was a force to be reckoned with.

“She wasn’t warm and fuzzy, but she had a very big heart when it came to treating people and taking care of them,” her niece said.

In Monroe County, Dr. Chapello served on the community mental health board, was a nursing home evaluator, and helped with clinics for migrant farm workers. She retired about five years ago.

She was born March 30, 1921, in Chicago to Eusta-chia and John Chapello. She studied chemistry and physical education at Rockford College, then a women’s school, from which she received a bachelor’s degree, and received a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She was a graduate of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.

She was a rower in high school and golfed for much of her adult life, her niece said.

There are no immediate survivors.

Memorial services will be at 6 p.m. Monday in the David R. Jasin-Hoening Funeral Home in Toledo, where visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Tributes are suggested to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.