Vaughan Crandall Chambers, Jr.

Vaughan Crandall Chambers, Jr., 91, of West Grove, PA died Monday March 6, 2017 at Chester County Hospital in West Chester, PA.

He was the loving husband of Carol Shaw Chambers for more than 68 years.

Born June 14, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA he was the son of the late Vaughan C. Chambers, Sr. and the late Caroline Irwin Chambers and brother of the late Wallace Chambers.

Raised in Upper Darby, PA, he graduated from Swarthmore College in 1947 with a B.A. in chemistry, then obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from M.I.T. in 1951.

He started work as a research chemist in Parlin, NJ in the DuPont Photo Products Division and rose through the Division’s ranks, moving to Wilmington, DE as Director of Sales and eventually becoming Director of Research & Development in Photo Products until his retirement in 1987.

The quintessential family man, Vaughan enriched everyone around him with his perpetual smile, his bad puns, his signature laugh, and his ability to see the goodness in everything around him.

From an early age, music and faith were inexorably linked and helped shape Vaughan’s entire life. Although he was totally deaf the last 30 years of his life, he continued to sing and entertain family and friends with his special renditions of numerous old songs, especially church hymns, Gilbert & Sullivan selections, and many college fight songs.

After retirement, Vaughan worked daily in his basement woodshop to design and build cherished gifts—from intricate jewelry boxes to large, beautiful pieces of furniture--for everyone in the family, every Christmas, without fail.

He loved watching all sports but particularly hockey, basketball, and football.  He also loved reading as many books as the library would lend him and the challenge of the most difficult crossword puzzles that the NY Times could throw at him.

Vaughan took up sailing while living in New Jersey and enjoyed nothing more than being on his sailboat with a good breeze, plying the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the Jersey coast.

In addition to his wife, Vaughan is survived by his four children Holly (Rick Steedle), Chris (Lorena Celaya), Randy (Beth Chambers), and Gloria (Ken Ballinger), and nine grandchildren, all of whom he loved and enjoyed.

Interment will be private.

A Celebration of Life service will be planned for later in the spring.   

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Vaughan may be made to Avondale Presbyterian Church, 420 Pennsylvania Avenue, Avondale, PA 19311.

Arrangements by DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home, Inc. of West Chester, PA 610-696-1181; DellaFH.com

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