Obituaries

Martha Jeanette Chalfant

Photo of Martha Jeanette Chalfant
Martha Jeanette Deckelman Chalfant, 75, died September 28, 2010 in Little Rock. She had lived well beyond life expectancy predictions from a terminal illness and chose to donate her body to UAMS for research. She was born January 15, 1935, in Elaine, Ark. to Linnie Fleener and William Valentine Deckelman. She attended a one-room school in Wabash, Ark. until third grade then moved to Dumas, Ark., where she graduated from high school in 1953. She attended the University of Ark. at Monticello and transferred to the University of Ark. at Fayetteville where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and met and married Charles Chalfant. After she married she lived in Little Rock, Ark.; La Tuna, Texas; and Rogers, Ark. before settling in Booneville, Ark. in 1964. After her children graduated from high school she then moved to Fayetteville, Ark. After divorcing she returned to school and worked as an administrative secretary for the University of Arkansas Division of Continuing Education and as a house mother for Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Nu. Jeanette decided she needed an adventure, so she moved to Green Valley, Ariz. where she lived for ten years. In 2002, she returned to Fayetteville where she lived until April of 2010 when she moved to Little Rock to live with her daughter, Sharla Chalfant. While in Booneville, Jeanette was an active community and church member serving as leader of school, community and church groups as well as chairing fundraisers for charities. She created a community based play-readers group that gave great enjoyment to her and her friends. She loved to travel and said her favorite trip was her two-week safari in Africa in 2003. Jeanette had a green thumb, she loved to play bridge and golf and to read books. She loved conversations that ranged from the metaphysical to the ordinary. She loved to dance and could do the jitterbugged with expertise. She enjoyed her yearly visits to the Ozark Folk Festival. Jeanette adapted easily to the many challenges and circumstances in her life. In her high school yearbook a close friend wrote about her infectious laughter, which was an attribute she carried throughout her life. She always made friends wherever she lived and cherished each of them. Survivors include her children, Julie Lacy and her husband, Ron Price, of Charlottesville, Va.; Sharla Chalfant and her husband Thompson Murray, of Little Rock AR; Chuck Chalfant and his wife, Debbie, of Fayetteville, Ark.; her sister, Anne Scougale of Cary, N.C.; her grandchildren, Kate Lacy Sartori, Conner Lacy, Liza Murray, Lucas Murray, LaTasha Chalfant, Chris Chalfant and two great-grandchildren, Julian Rodriguez Chalfant and Norah Sartori. A memorial service will be held at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church on Friday,October 1, 2010 at 2 p.m., 1601 South Louisiana, Little Rock, Ark. 72206. Visitation will follow the service. Memorials may be made in Jeanette's memory to Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church or the First United Methodist Church in Booneville.

Published September 30, 2010

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