Chapman suffered a stroke at the age of 75 and moved into the nursing home on Sugar Maple Lane in St. Charles seven or eight years ago. She was partly paralyzed from the stroke and had the use of only her right arm. With the good arm, she could operate her own motorized wheelchair.

When she wanted to smoke, she would drive her wheelchair to the patio and put the cigarette in her mouth and light it. A bag on the side of her wheelchair held her cigarettes and lighter.

Three months ago, the nursing home assigned her a smoking apron, a silicone-coated fiberglass fabric that covers someone from their shoulders to below their knees. It protects wheelchair users from accidental cigarette burns. Chapman needed one, Portscheller said, because she had started to get burn holes in her clothing and on her wheelchair. The family was in favor of the apron, hoping any stray ashes would slide off the apron.

Portscheller said the family had tried to get Chapman to give up smoking. “She was down to about a half pack a day, and we had tried to get her to quit,” Portscheller said. “She said, ‘That’s my one thing, please don’t take that away from me. That’s the one thing I can enjoy.’ ”