Thomas Harvey Chaffee Jr.

Celebration of Life ceremony for Thomas Harvey Chaffee Jr., 85, of the Flint section of Decatur, will be Sunday, June 29, 2025, at 5 p.m. graveside at Roselawn Cemetery, with full Masonic and military honors.

Visitation will be 3 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at Roselawn Funeral Home.

Mr. Chaffee died Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at home and surrounded by family members.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Robert Ryan Chaffee, and his son Thomas Harvey Chaffee III.

Mr. Chaffee is survived by his wife of 61 years, Miriam Stone Chaffee; daughter Mitzi Robin Taylor (Alan); son Jonathan Edwin Chaffee (Amy); grandchildren Chase Taylor (Jacki); Stone Wynn (Logan), Luke Chaffee (Ashlyn), and Ava Chaffee; and great-grandchildren Madelyn Taylor, Graham Taylor, Dean Chaffee and Sam Chaffee.

Born May 18,1940, in Bronxville, N.Y, to Thomas Harvey Chaffee Sr. and Margaret Violet Ryan Chaffee, Mr. Chaffee moved to Decatur with his parents when his father built and managed the Holiday Inn South, which was on the Beeline Highway (U.S. 31) just south of Decatur City limits.

Mr. Chaffee chose the United States Air Force, serving in the Alabama Air National Guard for 34 years and retiring with the rank of master sergeant.

As a welder and pipe fitter, Mr. Chaffee helped build Decatur's 3M plant. The company then hired him for its maintenance crew. He spent 42 years keeping the plant running.

He also served a four-year term on the Flint City Council before the town was absorbed by Decatur.

Mr. Chaffee loved being in nature. He helped found Boy Scout Troop 336 in Hartselle serving in many capacities including scoutmaster and whitewater canoe instructor. Both sons earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee got involved in the ballooning community when they crewed for Louisiana pilots Paul Halterman and Chris Burry during the third Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic in Decatur. Mr. Chaffee served as field operations chairman and in other capacities over the years. Mr. Chaffee was longtime crew chief for Mike and Cathy Wahl. For years, they traveled to balloon rallies all over the country, from Greenville, S.C., to Centralia, Ill., to Albuquerque, N.M.

After successfully recovering from cancer surgery in 2000, Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee threw themselves into the recreational vehicle life, beginning by watching their first RV being built in Red Bay. They took their RV from their Flint backyard to Alaska to Baja California in Mexico and all over the Western United States. They spent winters in Key West, Fla., returning when their grandchildren's baseball seasons opened in the spring.

Mr. Chaffee was also known for his deep, mellifluous voice, fishing for crappie, and his love of telling a good story.

Mr. Chaffee was a Shriner and a member of Masonic Lodge Rising Sun No. 29.