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Birth:          23 May 1915 Prospect, Me.
Death:          4 Apr 2009 Bangor, Me.
Burial:         9 Apr 2009 Walnut Grove Cemetery, Meriden, Conn.

Notes
findagrave
BANGOR, Maine - Virginia "Ginny" Harding Chaffee Godsoe passed away peacefully 
on Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Westgate Manor in Bangor. 

Born at home in Prospect, Maine on May 23, 1915, she was the daughter of the late 
Percival and Mildred Grindle Harding. She had been a resident of Bangor, Maine since 
1993. Prior to this she lived in Meriden and was married to the late Roger T. Chaffee 
for 39 years. Virginia attended Prospect Ferry School and then Eastern Maine 
Conference Seminary in Bucksport, Maine, riding the ferry across the Penobscot River 
to school every day. 

She graduated in 1932 as valedictorian of her class. 
She went on to Eastern Maine General Hospital for Nurses in Bangor, receiving her 
nurse's certification from the State of Maine in 1939. She became a private duty nurse 
working in Bangor and Augusta. She met Roger Chaffee in 1940, married in 1942 and 
lived in Orlando, Fla., and Washington, D.C. while he was in the Air Force. She then 
moved to Lancaster, Pa., where her children were born and then back to Roger's 
hometown of Meriden in 1956. While in Meriden she was a private duty nurse and 
worked for the Meriden Visiting Nurses Association. Virginia never truly retired from 
nursing. She was a familiar volunteer at bloodmobiles in the Meriden area for many 
years and also cared for many family members and friends. She was an active 
parishioner of the First Baptist Church of Meriden and the Wallingford Baptist Church. 
She traveled regularly with several of her friends to Elderhostels all over New 
England, and to Israel, Germany and Scandinavia. 
In 1992 she reconnected with her old family friend, William H. Godsoe. They married in 
1993 and she left her Meriden home for Bangor, Maine. She has been at Westgate 
Manor there since 2001. On the day that she became a permanent resident she told us 
"they need me". She has been taking care of her patients ever since. Anyone that 
knew her knows that is what she did, take care of others. 

Virginia is survived by her daughter, Jane Crowell and husband Joseph of Wallingford, 
and her son, Dr. Roger Blake Chaffee and wife, Dr. Martha Callaghan-Chaffee of 
Scottsdale, Ariz.; her sister, Wilma J. Voss and husband, Carrol of New Harbor, Maine; 
her step-grandchildren, David Jackson of San Diego, Calif.; Debra Jackson of Los 
Angeles, Calif., Sara-Jane Crowell (Jon Stine), of Meriden, Jill Pappallo (Douglas) and 
Stacy Crowell-Masi (Paul), of Wallingford and Joseph S. Crowell, of East Longmeadow, 
Mass.; she also leaves three step great-grandchildren, Noah Crowell, Jordyn Papallo 
and Jackson Masi; and 12 nieces and nephews. She is also survived by our dear 
friend, Catherine Leavitt of Eddington, Mass., whose care and guidance have helped 
Virginia and our family immensely and who has truly evidenced our mother's spirit of 
what it means to be a lifelong nurse and caregiver. She was predeceased by her 
husband's Roger T. Chaffee and William Godsoe; her brother, Edwin Harding; and 
sisters, Elinor Berry and Frances Harding. 

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 9 at 11 a.m. at the Beecher & 
Bennett-Flatow Funeral Home, 48 Cook Ave., Meriden. Relatives and friends may call 
at the funeral home on Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. prior to the service. Burial will 
follow in Walnut Grove Cemetery. 

The entire family would like to express their appreciation to the nurses and staff of 
Westgate Manor in Bangor for the extraordinary care that Virginia received for the 
past six years. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Virginia's memory 
to the EMGH/EMMC/Husson College Nurses Alumni Association c/o Mrs. Gloria Lee, 
Treasurer, Goshen Rd. Winterport, ME 04496, or to Westgate Manor, Activity Fund, 
750 Union St.,. Bangor, ME 04401 or to Project Excel c/o Rob Hunt, Washington 
Middle School, 1225 North Broad St., Meriden, CT 06450. To send a condolence 
please see obituary. 
 

Parents
HARDING Percival ()
GRINDLE Mildred ()

Siblings
HARDING Virginia ("Ginny") (23 May 1915 - 4 Apr 2009)

Marriage To CHAFFEE Roger T. (5 Sep 1915 - 11 Jul 1981)
    m. 1942 

Notes

Parents
CHAFFEE Henry Arthur (1885 - 19 Aug 1962)
CARTER Ruth M. (1892 - 22 Jul 1968)

Children by CHAFFEE Roger T. 5 Sep 1915 - 11 Jul 1981
CHAFFEE Roger Blake ()
CHAFFEE Jane E. ()

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