Leonard and Barbara Chafin

Leonard Chafin, Lieutenant Colonel US Army Ret, passed away January 18th, 2025 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Born in Atlanta Georgia March 3rd, 1932 to Paul & Amy (Hill) Chafin, Leonard grew up the son of a Deputy Sheriff (Fulton County GA) and a loving caring mother. Leonard,a member of the East Point William A. Russell High School Junior ROTC program, graduated in 1950 and attended the senior military college known then as North Georgia College located in Dahlonega Georgia. Upon graduation in 1954, Leonard was commissioned into the United States Army. In the mid’ 1950’s as a young infantry officer Leonard, an expert rifleman and paratrooper, was ordered to Presidio California to attend the Department of Defense language school to learn Farsi with follow-on orders to Iran. While in school, he met the love of life Barbara Brooks, whom he affectionately always called “Red.” Upon return from the Middle East, Leonard spent two tours in Vietnam during the 1960’s as a Special Forces officer being awarded two Bronze Stars V. Upon retirement in 1976, Leonard relocated his family to Thomaston, Georgia taking the assignment as the Robert E. Lee High School Jr ROTC Instructor. Under Leonard’s tutelage, The Jr ROTC rifle team members won numerous shooting awards and college scholarships. Upon retirement as a highschool teacher, Leonard relocated his family to Columbus Georgia settling close to his beloved Fort Benning Georgia. In their sunset years, Leonard and Barbara and their two microcephaly adult children Jeffery and Susan made one final move in 2018 to Fredericksburg Virginia to join their niece Vicky (Chafn) Fenton and nephew-in-law George Fenton. Leonard, the youngest of three children, was preceded in death by his parents and his two siblings, Harold Chafin and Pauline Chafin Williams. Barbara Chafin, who passed away in August 2022, will be buried with Leonard at the Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle Virginia.

Barbara Leilani Brooks Chafin passed away on August 22nd 2022.Barbara was born in Hawaii on October 11th, 1936 to Army Officer Robert R. Brooks and Rachel (Brinegar) Brooks. Barbara, as a 5-year old child, witnessed the horrific bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and recalled vividly the tragedy suffered by our nation at the onset of World War II. As a young girl, her family travelled to many military stations in the United States and abroad. Post WWII, her father was stationed in Europe upon which she fondly recalled memories of skiing and skating in Germany. Her passions were painting, poetry, and cooking. Family and friends both adorned their homes with her still-life paintings of countrysides, villas, and seascapes. A favorite pastime was preparing special meals for the family. Perhaps her most beloved talent was writing poetry. She had written a collection of over 50 poems in a small unpublished book, which was not discovered or known to the family until after her death. In the mid 1950’s, Barbara met young Army officer Leonard Chafin in Presidio California. Married in 1957, she and Leonard were stationed at a number of Army posts throughout the continental United States. Following her husband’s retirement from the Army, she and the family lived in Thomaston and Columbus Georgia. In the sunset years of her life, the family moved to Fredericksburg Virginia to join Leonard’s niece Vicky (Chafin) Fenton and her family. Barbara will be laid to rest with her husband Leonard at the Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle Virginia.