Sarah Louise Chaplin, 89, died Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 after a brief illness at Marion Manor, Curwensville.
Born Feb. 16, 1926 in Clearfield, she was the daughter of the late Frank “Cheech” Natoli and Rafaella “Flutch” (Pastori) Natoli.
She was a graduate of Clearfield Area High School and The City Hospital School of Nursing, where she was enlisted in the Army Nurses Corps before being released at the conclusion of World War II.
She was a registered nurse and completed graduate studies at The University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University and Villanova University.
Throughout her life, she worked as a registered nurse at various hospitals in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and California. She also worked as both a public health and school nurse in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In the 1970’s, she was a licensed realtor in California until returning to her hometown of Clearfield, where she owned and operated the Royal Nine Restaurant and Motel.
She was a woman who never shied away from a new challenge, eventually retiring from her “favorite” job as a nurse for Dr. and Mrs. Praxidio Tagala.
In 1949, she wed Carl G. Chandler at Niagara Falls, NY.
She is survived by her daughters, Nancy Chandler of Alsea, Ore., and Susan Lemmo and her husband, Randy of Clearfield.
In addition, she is survived by her grandson, Daniel Chandler and her granddaughters, Maria and Natalie Lemmo. She has one great-grandson, Makai Chandler Fonk.
On May 27, 1995, she wed her second husband, Alan D. Chaplin, who survives her and to whom she had met playing in the band at Clearfield High School.
She is survived by three step-children, Stephen Chaplin and his wife, Brenda of Savannah, Ga.; Diane Chaplin and her significant others, Howard Patterson and Andrine de la Rocha of Portland, Ore., and Philip Chaplin of Los Angeles, Calif., and a step-grandchild, Chris Stratford.
In addition to her children and grandchildren, she is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as two sisters-in- law, Marie (Anthony) Natoli and Julie Chaplin Dragavon.
She will be remembered for her fabulous Italian cooking and baking and her warm sense of humor.
She is the last member of her generation. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Sam, Joey and Anthony and her sisters, Josephine Skinner and Joan Colavecchi.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Clearfield, with Father John Miller as celebrant. Burial will follow in the Calvary Cemetery, Clearfield.
Friends will be received from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Kevin A. Beardsley Funeral Home, Clearfield.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to Joseph & Elizabeth Shaw Public Library, 1 S. Front St., Clearfield, or to the Penn Highlands Clearfield Hospice, P.O. Box 992, Clearfield.
To sign the online guestbook, go to www.beardsleyfuneralhome.com.
