In the 48 years he has been living in Wanganui, he has been stalwart of amateur theatricals in the city and has tallied up more than 90 shows he was directly involved in, usually as music director.
Over time he put together close to 2000 pieces of taped music for children's music troupe The Happy Wanderers.
He started climbing in his first year out of training college when he was posted to Fox Glacier. He and a mate then went overseas for three years, teaching at times in Britain. They travelled through Europe, living in a two-man tent and occasionally sleeping under the stars.
They then headed to Canada, popped across the border into the US to climb the 4392m Mt Rainier in Washington state and then the imposing Grand Teton (4199m), in Wyoming. Next to be knocked off was the tallest peak he tackled, the 5410m volcano Popocatepetl in Mexico.
Back in his homeland Mr Chapman, has climbed all the notable mountains including Mt Cook, Mitre Peak, along with Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe, Mt Tongariro and Mt Taranaki. And with these last four lies an intriguing story.
At the age of 41 this man, who once spent a month living in a snow cave on Fox Glacier helping build a hut, became the first person to climb Taranaki, Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro within 24 hours.
"I was on Taranaki with some tramping club members and we were all going to climb it that day. I got up before breakfast and climbed it, and then did it a second time with the party that day," he said.
"But on the top [of Taranaki], I looked across at Ruapehu and wondered if anyone had ever stood on the summit of all four peaks in the same day. I worked out driving back to Wanganui then up to the Central Plateau wouldn't have taken much time, so I picked a weekend when the moon was reasonably bright."
It was February 1968 and he just went out and did it. No big deal. Fast forward to 2007 and Mr Chapman became the second-oldest person to take part in Outward Bound, after he completed an eight-day "Discovery" course at Anakiwa School in the Marlborough Sounds.
He had been inspired to sign up when he read of an 82-year-old taking part but his interest prompted a call from the school's resident nurse when he signed up.
"She said 'You do know what is involved with Outward Bound?' [But] when I told her I had been up Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Taranaki in the last few weeks and jogged 3-4km daily, I think she felt a little happier," he said.
The oldest in a group which had an average age of "mid-40", his years of mountaineering experience left him undaunted by many of the Outward Bound challenges.
"It was a great experience."
Which probably best sums up Ron Chapman's life - definitely a life well lived.