March 27, 2024
Vietnam veteran, David Chapa served honorably in Texas at Fort Hood and for several years abroad in Germany. After a discharge, David returned to Austin, Texas where he met his wife of over 30 years, Connie. Of their mutual admiration when they met, Connie said with a chuckle, “Talk about immediate, it was immediate!” They married after six months of courting.
David and Connie raised a large, tight-knit family, including five children and seven grandchildren. Their family visits them often in the family home that David inherited over a decade ago.
The home was in good condition and big enough to accommodate the family visits until a fire tragically displaced David and Connie, causing massive smoke damage to the home, and making continued family get-togethers a challenge. “At first, we stayed at a hotel, and we tried to keep family together,” says Connie, “but we got an Airbnb, unfortunately, that was getting to be expensive.” The couple learned about the Meals on Wheels Home Repair program through a family member.
The Home Repair team arrived onsite and began the work of transforming David and Connie’s home back into a welcoming family space. Because of support from Meals on Wheels America and the generous funding from The Home Depot Foundation, The Chapa family received upgrades and repairs in their living room and updated appliances and counters in the kitchen. “They did a marvelous job,” says Connie. Looking at her kitchen, she laughs, “My son looked at the new kitchen and said, ‘I’m going to make Sunday dinners every week now.’”