Jean Chaffee—Author, Adventurer and Advocate

 

At the Springville Apple Festival last November, my booth was positioned near two authors—Marilyn Meredith who has written over twenty books, including the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery novels and Jean Chaffee, the author of the “Zoo to You” series of children’s books.

 Jean had an interesting collection of souvenirs and artifacts from her travels on display along with her table of books. She is a lovely person who has written seven true stories for children based on the animals at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, including Moja, the lion that had to go to the dentist with a bad tooth and an elephant named Nosey!

    

 Her late husband, Paul, was the director of the zoo from 1965-1990. Prior to 1965 Paul was a veterinarian. “He was full of stories and loved to travel,” she recalled. Jean and Paul met in 1985; however, they were only married for three years before he died of cancer.

   

 “Then, boom, he was gone! I started studying the history of the zoo and of its animals as a way of getting to know him better.” To do this, she decided to travel to the places where many of their animals lived before coming to the Chaffee Zoo. This search has taken her around the world.

“I’ve even been swimming with piranhas!” she said, nodding to one mounted on a plaque which she had in her display of memorabilia. Her favorite place to visit has been Rwanda.

    

 On her first trip to Rwanda, Jean stayed at the Gorilla Nest Hotel, famous for its proximity to areas where visitors could climb through the rainforest to see gorillas in their natural habitat. While there, she met a young Rwandan named Gilbert, who guided her around his village and who talked about the genocide during the 1990’s, in which over 500,000 people were brutally killed. The president of Rwanda, a Christian, is now guiding the country through a process of reconciliation and forgiveness.

    

Jean and Gilbert developed a strong friendship and kept in touch through email after she returned to the United States. When she went back to Africa in 2006, he took her to his home, a cement two-room house, and fixed her a very special meal of barbecued corn! In spite of his small earnings as a guide, he had managed to build a house. Eventually, Gilbert married. When he and his wife had a son, they decided to name him “Chaffee,” a great honor for Jean.

     

Jean is making a difference in our valley by promoting educational opportunities through her books and investing money from the sales back into the Chaffee Zoo; and she is making a huge difference in the lives of a special young family in Africa. It was a pleasure and a blessing getting to know her.

       

Her books are displayed at this website: www.jchaffee.com More information about the zoo and all of the current activities being planned can be obtained by going to: www.fresnochaffeezoo.org

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 NIV