Thomas D. Chaffee, of West Yarmouth and previously of South Hadley, died at home on November 25, 2016. He was born in Seekonk, Massachusetts, May 18, 1924 to Hiram Chaffee and Helen (Luce) Chaffee. Tom enlisted in the U.S. Army immediately upon graduating from South Hadley High School in 1942. He completed cavalry training at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1942 and Basic Engineering training at Indiana University in 1943. He served as a radio operator in the Pacific Theatre and was awarded several campaign medals and the WWII Victory Medal. Tom attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and received a B.A degree in history in 1950. He married Marjorie Young of South Hadley in 1947; they remained married for 43 years until her death in 1990. Tom worked for many years as a hardware sales manager at J. Russell and Company, a hardware distributor in Holyoke. He later served as the Assistant Business Administrator of the Massachusetts State College System in Boston, and then on the registrar’s staff at Bridgewater State University until his retirement in 1991. Tom was a single-digit handicap golfer and member for many years of The Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, where his father-in-law, James D. Young, had been club professional. He was a member of the First Congregational Church in South Hadley, taught Sunday school, and sang in the choir. After moving to Cape Cod in 1974, he was a member of the West Yarmouth Congregational Church and Bass River Golf Club. Tom is survived by his daughter Dr. Mary Chaffee and her husband, Dr. Donald Arthur, of Brewster, and his daughter Margaret (Meg) Chaffee of Hyannis. He is survived by four grandchildren: grandson Captain Thomas Hambidge, U.S. Marine Corps, and his wife Kristen Hambidge, of San Diego, California; granddaughter Sandra Mei and her husband Michael Mei of Brewster; grandson Captain Christopher Hambidge, U.S. Army, of Alexandria, Virginia; and grandson Justus Chaffee of Hyannis and Newton. He is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Aurora and Abram Hambidge of San Diego. Tom was preceded in death by his companion of many years, Eleanor (Ronnie) Davison of South Yarmouth, and his siblings Constance Daley of Yarmouthport and William Chaffee of Naples, Florida. A private family event will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Hope Hospice of Hyannis, or a charity of one’s choice.

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