Patricia Chamberlin

Patricia Chamberlin passed away on May 11, 2024, from complications of a fall at Morning Star Memory Care in Parker, Colorado, at the age of 96. She was born Patricia Jean Stafford in Ottawa, Illinois, on June 19, 1927, the second of three children born to Roland Walter Stafford and Desi Clotilde (Waltz) Stafford. She was raised in Wedron, Illinois, and graduated from nearby Serena High School. As a child, she took ballet, tap dancing lessons, and gymnastics, becoming the teacher’s assistant while in high school. Immediately after World War II, she was selected to be part of a USO troop that toured the Far East and Europe, performing the stage musical “Irene” for the U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. She attended the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials (trading her cigarette rations for a ticket), danced in a USO show presented in Hitler’s former private theater in his Berchtesgarden castle, and fled Tientsin, China, in the back of a Red Cross ambulance as the Communists were fighting to take over China. During later years, Patricia entertained her children and grandchildren with stories and songs of these travels and performances. After two years touring with the USO, she returned to Illinois and attended Northern Illinois University. In 1950, she married Glenn W. Chamberlin, who was a medical student at the University of Illinois School of Medicine. During Glenn’s schooling and training, they lived in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Seneca, Illinois. They eventually settled in Monmouth, Illinois, where he practiced medicine and Patricia raised their three children. While raising her children, she returned to school and completed a bachelor’s degree in science and education from the University of Northern Illinois and later, a master’s degree in guidance and counselling from Western Illinois University. During the years they lived in Monmouth, she belonged to the Four Seasons Garden Club, taught tap dance and ballet for several years, volunteered as a reading assistant at Lincoln Elementary School, held various leadership positions in the Warren County Medical Society Auxiliary, and was a member of the First United Methodist Church. She spent many years delivering Meals on Wheels. Her favorite hobby was sewing, and she created beautifully tailored clothing for herself and her children. In later years, she enjoyed keeping a large garden and canning and freezing its produce. Patricia and Glenn spent their retirement years traveling to see their children and grandchildren in Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee, and later Minnesota, but home base was always Monmouth. Patricia was preceded in death by Glenn in 2017; her parents; and her brother, Roland Stafford, Jr.; and brother-in-law, Ken Lecocq.  Her sister-in-law, Norma Stafford, also preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister, Sue Lecocq; daughter Barbara Chamberlin Daugherty (David); daughter Cynthia Chamberlin Irish (Scott); and son John Chamberlin (Debra). She is also survived by five grandchildren: Alicia Daugherty (Dan Diamond); Reams Daugherty; Molly Daugherty (fiancé Paul Hill); Gabrielle Chamberlin; and Byron Irish (Courtney). Great-grandchild Dash Diamond also survives. A graveside service will be held 11:00 AM, Saturday, July 13, 2024 at the Daysville Cemetery, 3194 South Daysville Road, Oregon, Illinois with the Pastor Nathan Massie officiating. Memorials may be sent to Monmouth Community Hospital in Monmouth, Illinois, or the American Red Cross. The family wishes to thank her longtime aide, Nancy Johnson, LPN in Rochester, Minnesota, for her care and companionship with Mom. Nancy made all the difference in Mom feeling that she had a good quality of life during her years in Rochester (2016-2024). We are also grateful for the excellent care provided by the staff of Morning Star and Bloom Hospice in Parker, Colorado since her move there in March 2024.