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Katherine Chaffee, 94

| November 23, 2010 12:50 PM

1916-2010

Katherine (Kate) Chaffee was an independent, tenacious woman - a woman who stood her ground and was able to maintain her modest household until the age of 94. She drove and did light shopping for herself until only one year before she passed away. She was a singular woman and will be missed.

Kate graduated from high school in Coeur d'Alene in 1934, during which she was voted the most well-liked girl in the school. In her younger years she was very active and athletic. She dove, swam, played basketball, baseball, was a high jumper, and even played violin with her sister, Marie. On one occasion in school, after a bully hit her sister, Eva, Kate found him and knocked him for a loop. He never pestered Eva again!

She moved several times with her late husband, Bill Chaffee, eventually settling in San Jose, Calif., where she lived for more than 50 years and was close with her nephew Kenneth L. Repp. She loved her cats, her orange trees and her huge fig tree, but the squirrels always got to the peaches before she could have even one! She was always known for her honesty and was a trusted employee at every job she held. And it must be said that she was one of the last people who had seen the famous horse Seabiscuit race.

Kate is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Falquist; her best and devoted friend of several decades, Hisako Yokoyama; and her nieces and nephews, their spouses and many children in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010, at English Funeral Chapel, 1133 N. Fourth St., Coeur d'Alene, with viewing preceding from noon to 2 p.m.