Obituary

EHAFFEY William (Bill) Chambers Mehaffey, Jr. pass-ed away on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 in the presence of his beloved wife of 65 years, Mary Jane. He was 90. Bill was retired from Mehaffey & Daigle, Inc., a successful manufacturers rep company in Harahan, LA. Bill was born in Chambersburg, PA, in the home constructed by his ancestor, Benjamin Chambers who founded the town in 1734. Bill was the oldest of 5 children of William Chambers Mehaffey, Sr. and Lydia Griffith Mehaffey. He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at the University of North Carolina where he met Mary Jane McCaskill. They were married in 1944 after graduation. Bill was then deployed to the Pacific Theatre in Okinawa with a commission in the U.S. Army. Upon his return to the States after the war, Bill joined his uncle, Lloyd B. Griffith in a wholesale paint and chemical distributorship company in New Orleans which later became the Mehaffey & Daigle Co., Inc. After Bill's uncle retired, Bill and his salesman, Gene Daigle became successful partners for 38 years. Their sons have continued and expanded that company for over 3 decades. Bill was Past President of the New Orleans Paint & Varnish Association; on the National Advisory Board of ALCOA Aluminum; and a member of the Southern Society of Plastics Engineers. Bill was the Chairman of the Building Committee of St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Algiers during construction of the new church. He was also a long term member of the St. Phillip's Choir. Bill was a Past President and co-founder of the Aurora Country Club where he spent many hours with some of his closest friends on the Tennis Court and in the Club House up until his mid 80's. He was also a member of the Morning Addition Kiwanis Club. Bill loved to sing and brought great delight to all who witnessed his singing talent. He was in the University Quartet at UNC, sang radio commercials for New Orleans area businesses in the late 1940's and 50's, was a soloist at the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church and was a long-standing member of the St. Phillip's Episcopal Church Choir until he and Mary Jane moved to the Christwood Retirement Community in Covington, LA in 2007. There he continued his singing with the "Christwood Singers". Bill's friends and co-workers describe him as one of the kindest, most generous men they have ever met. His endearing smile, great sense of humor and selfless compassion toward others drew all to close friendship and implicit trust. His children remember him as the perfect combination of tender and tough love, each at the appropriate time; as the ultimate human example of commitment to family, church, community and country, and as the epitome of faithfulness to righteousness, duty and personal responsibility. Bill is survived by his wife, Mary Jane, 4 children, 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held at the Christwood Retirement Community Center in Covington, LA on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 2:00pm. Donations may be sent in lieu of flowers to the St. Phillip's Episcopal Church, 3642 Aurora Dr., New Orleans, LA 70131 or to the Christwood Educational Fund, 100 Christwood Blvd., Covington, LA 70433.