Susan Chaffee

Barrington, Illinois,A Memorial Service for Susan Chaffee, formerly Susan Brown, 69, of Portland OR, formerly of Boise, ID, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, February 5, 2010 at Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel, 5400 Fairview Avenue, Boise. Born January 2, 1941 in Boise, she passed away peacefully January 19, 2010 in Barrington, Illinois. Burial will be in Cloverdale Cemetery. Susan graduated from Twin Falls High School in 1959. In 1960 Susan married Jerry Brown and, for many years, they ran a family cattle ranch near Riggins, Idaho. Susan completed her bachelor?s degree in 1977 from Boise State University and began her successful career in the programming operations at Idaho First National Bank, which was eventually acquired by US Bancorp. Susan relocated to Portland, Oregon in 1995, where she worked several more years for US Bancorp before retiring. In Portland, Susan was surrounded with friends, old and new, who shared her loves of traveling, playing bridge, golf, dancing, the Symphony, and gardening. Everyone who had the pleasure of visiting Susan at her home in Portland will surely remember the amazing garden she designed and created there ? it is a beautiful work of art. In 2004, Susan was diagnosed with multiple system atrophy, a form of Parkinson?s disease, and the consummate caregiver became the one who needed to be taken care of. She stayed in Portland until September 2006, when she moved to Illinois, near her daughter, Kristen. Even though her physical abilities became limited, Susan?s spirit and humor never faltered. Last September, she started weekly horseback riding sessions at a local stable, much to the delight of family, friends, and the horse! Survivors include her daughters Julie (Michael) Rounds of Fairfax, VA, and Kristen (Norm Plaistowe) Brown of Hawthorn Woods, IL, and her grandchildren, Kaitlin and Alex Rounds. She was preceded in death by her parents, Emery and Ruth Chaffee, and her former husband, Jerry Brown. Susan?s family wishes to extend a special thanks to all of the people from Prairieview at The Garlands, Harmony Home Care, and Vitas Hospice who cared for and cared about Susan. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780 New York, NY 10008-0780.

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