Frank Chappell, Jr., a member of NASW since 1962, died at Greenwood Manor Convalescent Center, Iowa City, on January 10, 1998, after a long illness. A graduate of the University of Texas, he was a reporter on the Dallas Times Herald and later a regional director for the March of Dimes and national news director for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, overseeing all press releases during the polio vaccine trials.
Upon the successful conclusion of those trials, Chappell moved to Chicago to become science news editor of the American Medical Association. There he remained until 1981, except for two years (1968-70) as clinical professor of biomedical communications at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Upon his retirement, he worked part-time for five years for the Federal Emergency Management Administration, supervising disaster-relief programs.
A past president of the American Medical Writers Association, he is survived by a son, Wallace K. Chappell of Iowa City.
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