Polly S. Points

Polly (Chapman) Points of Indianapolis, passed away December 13, 2023 at the age of 76. She was born in Muncie, IN on April 16, 1947, to the late Rosemary (Haggard) and Max Chapman.

Polly grew up largely in Muncie and Indianapolis, where she excelled in youth tennis and was a proud alumnus of Shortridge High School, class of 1965. She graduated from Ball State University in 1969 with a BS in Physical Education and a minor in English, and went on to earn a Masters in English from Butler University in 1984. Polly’s early career was spent in IPS as a physical education teacher and English department secretary at Arsenal Technical High School. She was also briefly an English teacher at Howe High School. She spent the majority of her career as an editor at Eli Lilly, retiring in 2007.

A highly creative person, Polly’s great passion was writing, particularly poetry. She once told her daughter that for as long as she could remember poetry was something she was compelled to write. She created several books of her poems over the years for family and friends. Her proudest creation was a collaborative effort with paper-making and book-binding artisans, along with her husband’s artwork, to create a small batch of completely hand-made books called Poems for Sale. 

Polly also showed her creativity in sewing projects. Over the years she made clothes for herself and her daughter, in addition to some memorable Halloween costumes for her daughter. In retirement, she enjoyed various artistic sewing projects including making beautifully detailed, personalized pillows for friends and family, a special Pink Floyd quilt for her son-in-law, and two Beatles jackets of which she was particularly proud.  

Polly was a lifelong lover of animals, from her childhood pony Shags to her current dog and two cats—Monty, Simon, and Poppy. She had countless beloved pets over the years, in addition to caring for the various outdoor creatures that frequented her feeders. It gave her great joy to watch their antics through her kitchen window.

Polly is survived by her husband of 30 years, Jerry Points; daughter, Erin (Tom) Longwell and grandsons, Nathan and Grant Longwell; sister, Katy Chudacoff; brother-in-law, Nate Streitmatter; cousin, Gordon Osterhoff and family; cousin, Janie (John) Maloney; niece, Ashley (Sean) Bishop and great-nephew, Jack; nieces, Sasha and Sophia Chudacoff; niece Jenny (Joe) Myers and family; nephew, Matt Nobles; step-family in Germany, April (Rainer) Points Beck, Brooklyn and Bastian Beck.

It was Polly’s request not to have a traditional funeral, but rather for the family to plan a future gathering in celebration of her life. Donations can be made in her honor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the National Humane Society, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, or Elephant Aid International.