CHARLES CLAUDE CHANEY (CHOPPY) 1940 -2024

Charles Claude Chaney of Westlake, Ohio, passed away on Wednesday, October 9th, 2024.

Charles, whom his family and friends affectionately knew as “Choppy,” was born to the late Claude and Maude Alice Ruth (“Maudie Ruth”) Chaney (née Canady) in Central Texas on July 4th, 1940.

Charles spent his youth in rural Belton, Texas, and attended Belton High School, Class of 1958. In 1963, Charles graduated from East Texas State University (now known as East Texas A&M University) in Commerce, Texas, with a BSA in Commercial Art and Communications.

Following college, he served as an officer in the United States Air Forces, serving at Medina AFB (now part of Lackland AFB) in San Antonio, Texas, and (the now decommissioned) Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois.

In October 1972, Charles moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a librarian for the Cleveland Public Library until his retirement in November 1998. Charles was a man of many interests, including genealogy, classic cinema, British television programs, and bringing new life to historical and family photographs through digital colorization.

An accomplished carpenter, Charles enjoyed woodworking even after he downsized from his house to his condo.

Charles was an early adopter of home computers, starting as early as 1981, and truly embraced the technology. He was also a videophile who appreciated having the latest in television and video tech. Charles discovered and connected many distantly related relatives from throughout the country and assisted friends in doing the same.

High among his pursuits was his genealogy, having joined the DDFA in the late 1980’s and served as Editor for the DDFA newsletter and then DDFA President. At the time of his death, he was still involved in Dameron-Damron research and was advisor to the DDFA Board. Charles attended many of our DDFA reunions with his computer in hand. When Charles health started to fail, he attended our reunions with the help of one of his best friends, Jim. Jim passed away several years ago leaving Charles without transportation to reunions. We missed Charles attending our reunions but kept him updated.

Those who knew Charles will deeply miss him, his humor, and his friendship. He was a man of kindness, generosity, and warmth. Though sad that he is gone, we were blessed that we had the pleasure of knowing him in this lifetime.