Person Record

Metadata

Name

Chafee, John

Occupation

Officer in the United States Marine Corps; 66th Governor of Rhode Island; Secretary of the Navy; United States Senator.

Born

October 22, 1922

Birthplace

Providence, RI

Deceased

October 24, 1999

Deceased where

Bethesda, MD

Education

Yale University - 1947
Harvard Law School - 1950

Notes

During nearly five decades of distinguished public service, John H. Chafee had been a forceful and articulate advocate for people with mental retardation. Today, tens of thousands of people with lifelong disabilities live productive lives in communities across the nation because of John Chafee's persuasive support for their cause in the United States.

A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, Chafee served for six years in the Rhode Island House of Representatives where he was chosen Minority Leader by his colleagues. He was elected Governor in 1962 and won reelection in 1964 and 1966. During his six years as Rhode Island's chief executive, major strides were made in developing community mental health and mental retardation services, an accomplishment which decades later Chafee recalled with justifiable pride.

During the late 1980's and 1990's, as a senior member of the Finance Committee, Senator Chafee became an advocate for improving the U.S. health care system. He supported legislation to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income children and pregnant women and sponsored legislation to expand the availability of home and community-based services for people with disabilities. Senator Chafee was the main proponent with the Senate Finance Committee for various changes in the Medicade home and community-based waiver authority which, collectively, were aimed at broadening the community living opportunities available to Title XIX-eligible individuals with chronic illinesses and disabilities.

With a self-effacing quality that was highly uncharacteristic of a politician who had spent decades in the national limelight, Chafee had quietly, but persistently, given voice to the aspirations of a frequently overlooked group of people within the American society.

Children

Lincoln Chafee

Spouse

Virginia Coates Chafee

Othernames

Senator John Chafee
John Lester Hubbard Chafee

Related Records

1989.2.10 - Government in Brief - Volume 1, Number 5
A monthly publication providing up-to-date coverage to the New York State Association for Retarded Children's Chapters regarding current events in the field of developmental disabilities. Includes news from Washington, State governments, the court system and around the nation. Volume 1 Issue Number 5 was published August 4, 1989.

Record Type: Articles, Books, Publications, & Media
1989.2.13 - Government in Brief - Volume 1, Number 2
A monthly publication providing up-to-date coverage to the New York State Association for Retarded Children's Chapters regarding current events in the field of developmental disabilities. Includes news from Washington, State governments, the court system and around the nation. Volume 1 Issue Number 2 was published May 1, 1989.

Record Type: Articles, Books, Publications, & Media
1989.2.14 - Government in Brief - Volume 1, Number 1
A monthly publication providing up-to-date coverage to the New York State Association for Retarded Children's Chapters regarding current events in the field of developmental disabilities. Includes news from Washington, State governments, the court system and around the nation. Volume 1 Issue Number 1 was published April 7, 1989.

Record Type: Articles, Books, Publications, & Media
1989.2.9 - Government in Brief - Volume 1, Number 6
A monthly publication providing up-to-date coverage to the New York State Association for Retarded Children's Chapters regarding current events in the field of developmental disabilities. Includes news from Washington, State governments, the court system and around the nation. Volume 1 Issue Number 6 was published September 1, 1989.

Record Type: Articles, Books, Publications, & Media
1989.5.19 - Promises Made, Promises Kept
New York State Association for Retarded Children, Inc. 40th Anniversary Convention program booklet. This event was held October 25-29, 1989. Select pages from this record have been made public.

Record Type: Articles, Books, Publications, & Media