Carl Harrison Chaffee II

Champagne aficionado, adventurer, joy-hunter and conduit, explorer, giver of laughter, lover of life and an unparalleled storyteller. He lived without fear of the unknown and greeted life, opportunity and possibility with a resounding ‘Why not?”

Carl passed peacefully in Canton, Georgia, surrounded by family and dear friends.

Born in Lansdowne Pennsylvania as the only child of Margaret Smith and John Chaffee (and adopted by William R Genn, his stepfather who raised him), he was a US Army Veteran, stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and honorably discharged in 1969.

Carl spent his life living and making friends across the globe: Pennsylvania, Antigua, New Jersey, New York, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Burgundy, Virginia, Texas, Georgia and Florida, and he and his wife Judy spent considerable time Kenya, eventually building a family home there. He never shied away from the chance to explore and create a home in a new place, bestowing on his children his love of travel. He worked for notable organisations including IBM, Raytheon, Seiko SITA and Memex, and later published three books – two about his life and adventures: ‘Why Not?’ And ‘More Why Not’ – and one biography about his wife Judy: ‘Rangi Saba: The Memories of an Adventurer’.

Married to Judith Ann Chaffee (nee Clowes) from January 1969 until her passing in October 2016, they had two children, Todd Prescott Chaffee born in 1970 and Erin Chaffee Sandral (nee Erin Leigh Chaffee) born in November 1973.

He is survived by his two children, his four grandchildren, Austin William Chaffee, Mckayla Laurence Chaffee, Layla Chaffee Sandral, Dylan Warren Sandral and his second wife, Marilyn G Bertch to whom he was married from 2023 until his passing in 2025.

May he rest in peace, and may his memory and joie de vivre live in the hearts of the many who knew and loved him.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to a foundation he held dear to his heart: The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans

A celebration of his life will follow at a later date in Camptown, Pennsylvania, where he will be laid to rest alongside his wife Judy.