Obituary for Elizabeth Danforth (Chapman) Elizabeth Grimes Chapman Danforth, July 10, 1921, to September 10, 2018 Elizabeth Grimes Chapman Danforth died peacefully in her sleep on Monday, September 10, 2018, at age 97. She died in the same home where she was born, having lived her entire life in a beautiful antebellum home in Paris, Kentucky, for all but 20 years (when she and her husband, Francis Jenkins Danforth Jr., were busy raising children and chickens in rural Connecticut). Elizabeth (or “Grimes,” as she was known to most of her Kentucky relatives) moved back to her family home in 1966, where she spent the remainder of her life enjoying her family and friends.
Elizabeth was born in 1921, in the same bedroom where her mother and grandmother were born. Her father, Virgil Munday Chapman, attended the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Kentucky Law Journal and also graduated first in his class. Elizabeth’s mother, Mary Adams Talbott, was one of the first women to attend law school, also at the University of Kentucky.
Virgil served as a US Senator and Elizabeth fondly recalled the days of traveling and adventures in Washington DC. After growing up in Paris, Elizabeth attended her parents’ alma mater, where she earned a degree in Economics. She worked for the IRS and met her future husband after living in Louisville and they married about nine months later.
Elizabeth was strong and independent, and she had a keen intellect. She raised three sons, a daughter, many grandchildren, emphasizing those same attributes and values. She was a best friend to so many people, because she was so accepting of others, and because she embraced people of all religions, races, ages, and beliefs.
She had a boundless capacity to love and to see the good and the positive in all people. She also taught her family how to deal with hardship, when her oldest child died at age 42 with four young children. All of us in her family are so grateful that we had such an extraordinary mother and grandmother, an inspiration to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Elizabeth Grimes Chapman Danforth was preceded in death by her husband, Francis Jenkins Danforth Jr., and her son, Francis Jenkins Danforth III (Marion survives). She was survived by children, Virgil Chapman Danforth (Jewellene), Robert Talbott Danforth (Lee-Anne Swanson), and Mary Talbott Danforth Fogler (Richard). She remained close to her daughters-in-law Marion and Janet.
She was also survived by fourteen grandchildren, Margaret Marion Danforth, Dennis Jenkins Danforth (Jennifer Goldstone), Mary Elizabeth Danforth, and Francis Alexandre Danforth, Pamela Diana Danforth Hunter (Charles), Richard Stanley Fogler Jr.(Erin), Nicholas Danforth Fogler (Madeleine), Léonie Alexandre Fogler (Darius Gutridge), Carol Bruntjen Fogler Leiting (Joshua), Robert Arden Fogler, and Rebecca Chapman Fogler Winters (Dustin), Dinah Elizabeth Danforth, Emmeline Rose Sitomer Danforth, and Robert Evan Danforth. Great-grandchildren survive: Dorian and Nora Kate Lineberger, Nataliah and Norieah Fogler, Noah and Claire Hunter, Olivia Fogler, Sydney and Elizabeth Leiting, and Levi Fogler. A Celebration of Life and Memorial Service will be held 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, September15, at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that donations be sent to St Peters Episcopal Church in Paris, KY.
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