Obituary for Zechariah Chafee, Jr.
ZECHARIAH CHAFEE, JR. of Providence took his own life on September 29, 2017 in Santa Monica, California. He was 28.
A great-grandson of a Texas oil “wildcatter”, a grandson of the late US Senator John H. Chafee and a Providence native, the younger Chafee came of age on the East Side. He was educated at the Moses Brown School from the earliest grade through his graduation in 2007. A heavy hitter and fiery leader at middle linebacker for several powerful MB football squads, Chafee won 2006 RI Inter-Scholastic League First Team All-Division III honors for his dominance at his position.
Those who knew him from his school days have remarked on Chafee’s gentleness and comfort for those in distress and his encouragement of those younger than he. Tall, broad shouldered, handsome, blessed with a probing mind, a swift wit, and a rare ability to read people, there was a magnetic, charismatic quality to the man, as well as a natural ease with men and women of all ages and stations in life. He drew people to him.
Before enrolling at Bryant University, Chafee put to work a gift for oral persuasion in selling advertising for a national satirical publication. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryant in 2016, Chafee spoke highly of the school and the professors with whom he had studied.
Chafee leaves his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth Lee, his beloved brother Sam, his much loved grandmothers, Adelaide Comegys and Virginia Chafee, as well as numerous aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. He was predeceased by his maternal grandfather, Walker B. Comegys, a Boston lawyer and former acting head of the Anti-Trust Division of the US Department of Justice.
The funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2017, at 10:30 AM, at St. Martin’s Church, Orchard Avenue, Providence.
Donations may be made in memory of Zechariah Chafee, Jr. to National Alliance on Mental Illness, 154 Waterman St., Providence, RI, 02906. Tel: 401-331-3060.
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A great-grandson of a Texas oil “wildcatter”, a grandson of the late US Senator John H. Chafee and a Providence native, the younger Chafee came of age on the East Side. He was educated at the Moses Brown School from the earliest grade through his graduation in 2007. A heavy hitter and fiery leader at middle linebacker for several powerful MB football squads, Chafee won 2006 RI Inter-Scholastic League First Team All-Division III honors for his dominance at his position.
Those who knew him from his school days have remarked on Chafee’s gentleness and comfort for those in distress and his encouragement of those younger than he. Tall, broad shouldered, handsome, blessed with a probing mind, a swift wit, and a rare ability to read people, there was a magnetic, charismatic quality to the man, as well as a natural ease with men and women of all ages and stations in life. He drew people to him.
Before enrolling at Bryant University, Chafee put to work a gift for oral persuasion in selling advertising for a national satirical publication. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryant in 2016, Chafee spoke highly of the school and the professors with whom he had studied.
Chafee leaves his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth Lee, his beloved brother Sam, his much loved grandmothers, Adelaide Comegys and Virginia Chafee, as well as numerous aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. He was predeceased by his maternal grandfather, Walker B. Comegys, a Boston lawyer and former acting head of the Anti-Trust Division of the US Department of Justice.
The funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2017, at 10:30 AM, at St. Martin’s Church, Orchard Avenue, Providence.
Donations may be made in memory of Zechariah Chafee, Jr. to National Alliance on Mental Illness, 154 Waterman St., Providence, RI, 02906. Tel: 401-331-3060.
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