Memorials › Virginia Mae Samsel Chaffin
Virginia Mae Samsel Chaffin
12 Jul 1923 – 23 Jan 2014
| Birth | 12 Jul 1923 |
| Death | 23 Jan 2014 |
| Cemetery | Prospect Hill Cemetery Norfolk , Madison County , Nebraska , USA |
| Added by | Gene Hutson on 21 Aug 2012 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95719793 |
Bio
Funeral services for Virginia Chaffin, age 90 of Norfolk, Nebraska, former owner of Gillette Dairy of Norfolk, will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 28, 2014, at Brockhaus-Howser-Fillmer Funeral Home in Norfolk. The Reverend Dr. James S. Brewer will officiate, with burial in the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Norfolk. Visitation will be one hour prior to services on Tuesday at the funeral home. Virginia died Thursday, January 23, 2014, at the Prairie Meadows Alzheimer's Special Care Unit in Omaha, Nebraska. Virginia Mae (Samsel) Chaffin, daughter of Howard and Helen (Smith) Samsel, was born September 5, 1922 in Beatrice, Nebraska. Virginia spent her very early life in Beatrice, then moved with her family to Lincoln, Nebraska, where her parents operated a book bindery. Virginia attended and graduated from Lincoln High School, then attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. It was during her time at UNL that through a student social club, the Palladium, that Virginia first met a young rancher's son from Burwell, Nebraska, Leslie Kenneth Chaffin. The Palladium hosted a dance in 1942, and when Virginia and Les danced, it was love at first sight. They continued to attend their classes, and tried to see each other every chance they could. After one year of dating, Virginia and Les were engaged, and began to plan for their marriage. The United States Army ROTC, however, had different plans, and within days of their engagement, Les was inducted into the service in the midst of World War II. While Les was in the service, Virginia remained in Lincoln, taking a job in the accounting department with Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph. Her experience with Lincoln Telephone would prove very valuable later in Virginia's life, when she and Les would own and operate their own business, but at the time of her employment in Lincoln, Virginia's main focus was making money to begin her new life with Les. After a year of being apart due to the service, with the money she and Les had saved up, Virginia, her mother Helen, and grandmother, Della, all drove to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, where Les was stationed. On October 15, 1943, at the age of 20, Virginia married Les Chaffin in Slippery Rock. After only a short time together after their wedding, Les returned to his duties in the military and Virginia returned home to Lincoln. For the next year, the young couple would be apart until Les received his discharge from the Army Air Force. At this time, Virginia and Les finally were able to begin their married life together in Lincoln, where Les returned to UNL to pursue a degree. On November 23, 1945, Virginia and Les were blessed with their first child, a daughter, Cheryl Mae. Les graduated from UNL the following year, and then began building the foundation for a near life-long career in the dairy processing industry. But career building wasn't the only construction going onVirginia and Les began building their first home together in Lincoln. Already an indication that Virginia was a woman of strength, determination, family, and hard work, while very much pregnant with their second child, Virginia worked tirelessly on the family's new home, even going so far as to be up on the roof sheeting and shingling. After spending the early years of their marriage in Lincoln, work took Les to the Quad Cities, where he landed a job with dairy processor, O.G. Sturdevant. Virginia and Les moved to Rock Island, where on August 26, 1948, their second daughter, Leslie Kay, was born. After five years of living and working in Rock Island, Virginia and Les found the opportunity of a lifetime in the form of a newspaper ad. Having always wanted to own and operate their own dairy processing business, after three years of searching, Les saw an advertisement stating that longtime dairy processor, Gillette Dairy in Norfolk, Nebraska, was for sale. After a meeting with Mr. Gillette, and some serious business dealings, Virginia and Les entered into a three-year purchase agreement in 1951, and returned back to their home state of Nebraska. Shortly after their move to Norfolk, Virginia and Les were blessed with their third child, a son, Richard Howard Chaffin, on February 27, 1951. While Les worked tirelessly to turn around the struggling dairy the Chaffins bought, Virginia worked hard on the homefront, being a loving wife and mother to her three children. Reviving the dairy and expanding its service area statewide took Les away from the home many times, so Virginia put all of her energy and focus on the family, and many happy times of meals, special activities, and trips with Mom made life memorable for the Chaffin children. Once the children had grown and began lives of their own, Virginia's career changed as well, becoming an integral part of the operations at Gillette Dairy. During her time of raising children, Virginia indirectly helped in any way possible with the dairy, and now with the nest empty, Virginia became fully engrossed in the family business. She truly lived for Gillette and seeing it succeed, and during Virginia's tenure of working in the daily operations of the plant, Gillette grew and expandedin many ways. Besides expansion into serving all of Nebraska, and later purchasing the Brown Swiss Dairy in Rapid City, South Dakota, which added Colorado and Wyoming into Gillette's service territory, the "Gillette Family" grew as well. Daughter Cheryl married Kip Hirschbach on August 19, 1966, and after Kip completed his service in the United States Air Force, they returned to Norfolk and became involved with the operations of the plant. Daughter Leslie married Bill Barnhart on August 23, 1969, and they moved to Rapid City to work at the Gillette-Brown Swiss Dairy. Son Richard married Carolyn Klemz on June 5, 1982, and would later rejoin the operations of Gillette Dairy after attending college, although having never really left the family business, as he worked in the Lincoln, Nebraska office while in school. Virginia found much joy in being able to have the two things she lived for all in one place; her beloved family and her beloved Gillette Dairy. She and Les met countless people over the years of being in business, and in turn, made numerous life-long friends. Although she was all about the success of the business, Virginia also took time for fun. She and Les took many trips across the country and overseas with friends and colleagues. The couple also loved to bowl, and belonged to several leagues in Norfolk over the years. Virginia was a very accomplished golfer, and many people around Norfolk that golfed with her will remember incredible skill and talent on the greens. While operating the family business was the major constant in Virginia and Les' life, things in the dairy industry were rapidly changing in the 1980's. The company grew to be one of the midwest's largest dairy processors and distributors, and several corporate partners would become a part of the picture. Virginia and Les rode it out, through good times and bad, rebuilding from a fire at the plant, and expanding their clientele. However, the dairy industry changed considerably by the late 1980's and 1990's, and although they had many successful years, the Chaffin family sold Gillette in 1995, but continued to remain a part of the operations. After Richard's untimely death on November 22, 1997, Virginia and Les retired and slowed down, partially because they were of retirement age, and primarily, because of the loss of their beloved son. Family became the primary focus from then on, and Virginia and Les devoted themselves to making as many memories possible with their grandchildren. The couple continued to make their home in Norfolk, staying active with friends, and travelling. Virginia was involved with the First United Methodist Church in Norfolk, and was an active member of the Chapter CU of PEO. After Les' death in 2006, Virginia remained in Norfolk for a time, before moving to Omaha to be closer to Richard's wife, Carol. Although it was hard to leave their home of over 50 years, Virginia was blessed to have Carol nearby while living in Omaha, and in her twilight days, having the loving care of the staff at Prairie Meadows Alzheimer's Special Care Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, where Virginia passed away on Thursday, January 23, 2014, at the age of 90. Virginia was always such a strong and determined person, and though we will all miss her love she all gave us in this life, we can take comfort in knowing that she is still caring for us from afar, and has been reunited with her beloved husband Les, son Richard, and daughter Cheryl. Virginia is survived by her daughter, Leslie (Bill) Barnhart of Steamboat Springs, Colorado; daughter-in-law, Carol Chaffin of Omaha, Nebraska; six grandchildren, Holly Beth (David) George (their children, Thomas Chaffin George, James Macarthur "Mack" George, and Elena Alice George), Heidi Lyn Hirschbach, Keely Lyn (Paul) Stocking (sons, Jake William "J.W." Stocking and Charlie Paul Stocking), Lindsey Ann (Jamie) Mulder (son, Everett Walker Mulder), Morgan Elizabeth Chaffin, and Mallory Virginia (Laine) Weisbeck (son, Cruz Anthony Weisbeck). She was preceded in death by her husband on December 30, 2006; son, Richard Chaffin; daughter, Cheryl Chaffin Hirschbach on January 29, 2005; and her parents. Per family request, memorials may be directed to the Nebraska Humane Society, where a fund has been established in Virginia's name. Contributor: Matt Fischer (50250108)
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