Business man, family man, race horse breeder, and long-time resident of Hartwood, VA, Clarence L. Chaffee, Sr., 83, died at Mary Washington Hospital on Saturday, November 10, 2012. Chaffee, the son of Earl and Erma Chaffee, was born in Ithaca, NY on August 4, 1929. A carpenter in his early years, Mr. Chaffee became a restaurateur in the 1960's when he and his wife, Helen Yianilos Chaffee, started, owned, and operated the Chaffee Chocolate Shop in Cortland, N.Y. In 1969, Mr. Chaffee moved his family to Virginia where he became a principal owner of Ranch House Restaurants, a small chain of family-style restaurants in Virginia and Maryland.
A life-long horse racing fan, Mr. Chaffee owned and raced horses since the 1970's. He fulfilled a life-long dream in the 1980's when he entered the standardbred horse breeding business. He and his wife bought a horse farm in Hartwood, VA and, under the moniker of "Shadow Acres", bred and raised horses which they largely raced themselves for more than 20 years. In addition to his beloved wife Helen, Mr. Chaffee is survived by his sister Deborah Chaffee, his daughters, Susan Chaffee and Sandra (James) Persons; his sons Clarence "Buck" (Judith) Chaffee and Anthony "Tony" Chaffee and his fiance, Barbara Butterfield; eleven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. Mr. Chaffee was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Earl, Jr. and his two sisters, Winifred Knapp and Katherine Butts. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 noon (viewing at 11:00 AM) on Friday, November 16th at the Laurel Hill Funeral Home, Spotsylvania, VA with interment in Laurel Hill Memorial Park.