I knew Marian Chaffin when she worked as a Social Worker at the West Portland branch of Adult and Family Services, aka Social Services, in downtown Portland, Oregon during the 1980's. She worked with the adults who didn't have children and received public assistance. These included the elderly, the mentally ill, the permanently disabled, those who were temporarily disabled (for only a few months or so), and the homeless Burnside population who consisted mostly of transients, alcoholics, addicts and hoarders. We had a number of clients in common and worked together to try to make the quality of life as good as possible for those who were terminally ill, temporarily & permanently disabled and the elderly. We tried to coordinate the benefits for the alcoholics and addicts during the Winter so they would have shelter and not end up spending all of their money on their "drug of choice" or having their money on them and getting "jack rolled" when they were passed out or asleep outside at night. It was hard quite often, because many of the elderly had many other issues that needed to be addressed, too. Some of them had even been on public aid since the 1930's, although that was a rarity and mostly due to mental illness. We had to have a guard around often because there were clients who were violent and took out their frustrations towards the "system" on the employees. There were also persons who were violent towards their wives or single women who ended up in women's shelters; they would then come looking for their wife or 'girlfriend', threatening the case worker who could not and would not tell them where she was. And then there were persons who robbed (mostly) the elderly of their food stamps when they came to pick them up at our office, so we started sending them checks instead, also because many of the elderly were embarrassed to be receiving public assistance & didn't want to be seen using food stamps. Many mentally ill people were not taking their meds after the State Hospital closed & many group homes were too full or didn't get the money they needed to stay open. It was a difficult job, but it had it's rewards when people were helped who needed it and got the shelter, medical care and food stamps for groceries they had needed so they didn't have to stay at the different shelters any longer. The shelters were always full and it was hard for people to find a place to stay for the night. It was also sad when people with cancer and other illnesses (and the elderly) died and we had to make the arrangements for their funeral, which wasn't much when the person was on aid. The different cemeteries took turns in covering the costs for burying our clients back at that time.
Marian initiated an annual luncheon for current and former State workers so we could all get together and catch up with each other. She did this for a number of years, which was quite a feat. As the economy got worse and cutbacks were made, however, more & more people had to change jobs. I lost contact with her when all of the Social Workers changed offices. I attended the luncheons until one year when it didn't occur. I tried to get in contact with Marian but couldn't find her; I was told she had retired but I didn't know where she lived. I wish I could have told her how much she meant to me as a person, a co-worker and a friend. She was a nice lady with a big heart.
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If anyone knows anything else about Marian, such as her maiden name, parents, where she was born, etc., please contact me via the "edit" button and I will gladly add it to her memorial and, with it, your name. Thank you so much.
Oct 16th, 2012
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Marian's loving husband, Bert LeRoy Chaffin, passed away on Oct 17, 2014. A grave side memorial was held at the Columbia Memorial Gardens yesterday, Oct 21st, 2014 at 1 p.m. From reading Bert's obituary created by Columbia Memorial Gardens, I can now add to Marian's memorial and honor her dear husband, as well. Marian and Bert were married in 1968, per Bert's obituary created by Columbia Memorial Gardens. Marian's name at the time was Marian Philips Fox. This could mean that Marian was divorced or widowed and her husband (or ex-husband) was named Fox and her maiden name was Philips. No mention is made of any children borne from her marriage to Bert or stepchildren that he came to care for. Her SSN was issued in Oregon so I believe she was a native Oregonian.
Kathie L. Webb Blair,
Oct 22, 2014