Frances G. “Jerry” Chadderdon
1930-2021
Rochester
Frances G. “Jerry” Chadderdon, 90, passed away from COVID on Sunday, January 31, 2021. She had been
in memory care for a year in Rochester, near her daughter Mary and her family. Jerry was a native of
Bolivar with close family ties to Allegany. She was born on November 3, 1930 in Olean, daughter of
Francis “Frank” and Amelia Gerringer Hungerford. Jerry married Richard “Dick” J. Buffington Sr. on
September 17, 1949; he preceded her in death in 1979. She married Clair J. Dunn in 1981 who preceded
her in death in 1999. She married LaVerne “Bones” “Chad” W. Chadderdon on June 19, 2005 and was
devastated by his death on November 11, 2019.
She graduated from Bolivar Central School in 1948, attended the University of Michigan and enjoyed
numerous humanities and social sciences courses, into her 80’s. Jerry taught in Olean area Catholic
schools before she and Dick adventurously “packed up the kids” in 1961, camping across country to settle
in what is now Silicon Valley. There, she loved her jobs at Sylvania (G.E.) and the Santa Clara County
Sheriff’s Department. In 1969 the family moved back to western NY to Allegany. She worked for many
years in administration at St. Francis Hospital followed by employment at Manufacturers Hanover Bank
Olean Trust Dept. and Cattaraugus Co. Community Action. She came full circle, living most of her final
years in Bolivar. She was a member of the Nile Community Church. Before moving back to Bolivar, she
was active in St. Bonaventure Parish and the Allegany Area Historical Association; in Bolivar she was an
enthusiastic supporter of the Pioneer Oil Museum.
Fred Rogers’s mother’s famously said “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
That was Jerry. She helped at the Warming House, on a mission trip with St. Bonaventure’s to Vietnam,
with Meals on Wheels, and for a full year in KY with the Christian Appalachian Project. From childhood,
she loved being outdoors, from picnics out on the Trio oil lease and at Rock City, under redwoods in Big
Basin, in Allegany State Park, and as a snowbird on Florida beaches. She taught her children and
grandkids the same, taking them to Allegany State Park for card games, puzzles, porch sitting and to
Bucher Hollow for berry-picking and memories. Her roots were always in Ireland where she traveled as
an adult and in the oil fields of the Southern Tier and she made sure to pass those roots on.
Surviving are three children, Lynn (Don Nguyen) Buffington of Beavercreek Ohio, Mary (Ricardo) Adams of
Rochester, and Rick (Ann) Buffington of Portville and five beloved grandchildren (Elizabeth Nguyen of
Boston, Erin Shoemaker of Rochester, Jonathan Nguyen of Philadelphia, Sarah and Maya Adams of
Rochester), beloved great grandson Atom Shoemaker of Rochester and special sister-in law Mary “Mac”
Hungerford. She was close to step-children Craig Chadderdon of Scottsville, Greig “Rusty” Chadderdon of
Caledonia, Kathy Tucci of Avondale, PA, and Kyle Chadderdon of Caledonia.
She was preceded in death in 2015 by daughter Kath Buffington with whom she shared a beautiful voice
and a passion for singing. Jerry loved music, especially musicals, John Denver and Frank Sinatra, and she
performed with Olean Community Theater in the 1980’s. She is also predeceased by her beloved sisters
and singing partners, Mary Fitzsimmons and Patricia Smyke with whom she cherished numerous weeklong
and much celebrated family reunions of the extended Hungerford family. She is also predeceased by
special sister-in-law Patricia “Trish” Buffington McGrath and special cousin Tom Sullivan.
The family expresses their heartfelt appreciation to the staff of Rochester Presbyterian Home and Manor
Hills Assisted Living of Wellsville. A memorial service will be held at a later date with burial in Maple Lawn
Cemetery Bolivar, her chosen engraving: “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at
your back.”
Memorials may be made to Mt. Irenaeus Franciscan Retreat, Box 100, West Clarksville, NY 14786.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Schaffner Funeral Home Inc. Bolivar
Schaffner Funeral Home
