Obituaries

Charles Thomas Chaffin

Charles Thomas Chaffin died on October 24, 2016 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was born in Pampa, Texas on November 30, 1931. His family moved to Fayetteville Arkansas in 1946, and Tom graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1949. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Business in 1953. While at the University of Arkansas, he first met Frances Marie Raines and they began a six-year courtship. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, Tom moved to Kansas City and was hired by Sears Roebuck and Company as a manager trainee. He would eventually retire from Sears in 1990 after a 37-year career in which he rose through the ranks and eventually became a merchandise manager. While working with Sears, Tom developed life-long friendships with many of his co-workers that lasted well beyond his retirement. Tom and Frances married on October 18, 1958. They lived in Kansas City for 10 years before moving to Olathe Kansas in 1968. Tom and Frances had three sons: Raines was born in 1960, Charles was born in 1963, and Nathan was born in 1970. Tom was a dedicated outdoorsman, who enjoyed hunting and fishing with family and friends throughout his entire life. Some of his favorite memories involved fishing on his grandfather's Missouri farm as a boy, squirrel hunting with college buddies in the Boston Mountains, hunting Kansas pheasants and fishing local farm ponds with his sons, duck hunting with family near DeWitt, Arkansas, and his annual father-son fishing trips with Raines in the lakes of Arkansas, Montana, and Canada. Tom became a Boy Scout when he was 11 years old, and his interest in Scouting continued throughout his life. He volunteered as a Scout leader while he was living in Kansas City as a young man in the 1950's, and again when his sons were Scouts in the 1970's and 1980's. He backpacked at Philmont Scout Ranch with Raines and Nathan in 1986, and as recently as 2009, he joined Charles's troop on a backpacking trip to Colorado. As a Scout leader, Tom had a profound impact on many young men while demonstrating a true commitment to the principles of Scouting, with a special emphasis on Courteous and Kind. Tom embodied Christian values in everything he said and did for his entire adult life. He earnestly pursued a better understanding of his faith, participating in Bible Study Fellowship for 25 years as a student and a leader. Tom's faithful love and devotion to Frances and his three sons will never be forgotten or replaced, and his ever-cheerful demeanor and gentlemanly countenance will be missed by all who knew him. He is also survived by one sister, Sybil Joyce Johnston, of Wooster Ohio. The family suggest that memorial donations can be made to the Glaucoma Research Foundation. The family will receive friends at 1 p.m., Thursday, October 27, 2016 at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, 13801 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, Arkansas 72211, (501) 224-8300. Graveside service will follow at 2:30 p.m. at Forrest Hills Memorial Park in Alexander, Arkansas. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal.

Published October 26, 2016

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