Donald Lee Chaffin Sr.

Donald Lee Chaffin, Sr., passed away quietly in Anchorage, Alaska on May 21, 2023, at the age of 84. Don was born on September 1, 1938, in Meta, Pike County, Kentucky, the son of the late Levi and Lunie (Price) Chaffin.
In 1956, Don graduated from Maytown High School in Kentucky and in 1959 he entered the Armed Services. He served in the United States Army from 1959 until 1962. Donald married Betty Lou Hale in Clintwood, Virginia on October 7, 1960. Together they had 3 children, Kathy, Donald, Jr., and Michael. He held fellowships with the Masons, Scottish Rites, Shriners International, and he was also a Kentucky Colonel. As a boy he enjoyed fishing and archery. Later, he worked as a farrier, coal miner, owner/operator of trucks and equipment, auto scrapper, was a machinist, tool and die maker at Frigidaire in Dayton, Ohio, and in 1993 ended his working careers as a remote radar station mechanic in Alaska on the Arctic Ocean, where he was mauled by a polar bear that almost ended his life, as well. At that time, he was the only known survivor of a polar bear attack in North America. After his near-death experience, Don went on to enjoy fishing, gold panning, car washing, and caring for his wife, Betty until her death in 2004, and later their son, Donald, jr. until his passing in 2011.
Donald is preceded in death by his parents Levi and Lunie, his wife Betty, his eldest son Don Jr., his friend Heloise Tweed, and 10 siblings.
He is survived by his daughter, Kathy and her husband, Rex Williams, and Son, Michael, and his wife Rochelle Chaffin. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Amanda (Benjamin) Smith, Candice (Matthew) Sanborn, Natalie (Zachary) Eddy, Cassie (Derik, Sr.) Scaggs, Valerie (Jason) Wright, Andrea Chaffin, Elizabeth (William) Klatt, and Andrew Elliott; 17 great grandchildren: Daniel, Gage, Autumn, Zoe, Lorelai, Gwyneth, Madison, Miles, Derik III, Iris, Finnegan, Elyse, Austin, Camdon, Everett, Tucker, and Alexis; 2 cats: Frosty and Bambi; many nieces, nephews, friends and family.
Visitation for Donald will be Saturday, June 3, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Hall Funeral Home, Martin, Kentucky. Funeral services for will be conducted Sunday, June 4, 2023, at 1 p.m. in the Hall Funeral HomeChapel, Martin, Kentucky, with Pastor Robert Varney officiating with the burial to follow at the Hale Cemetery in Stephens Branch, at Martin, Kentucky, under the professional care of Hall Funeral Home.
Donald was a good man that will be missed by all that knew him. Rest in Peace, Pops.
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