Myra Althea Chandley

Myra Chandley, 103, Teacher

LAKE WALES -- Mrs. Myra Curtis Chandley, an early settler in Lake Wales, took an active role in volunteering in the community and was named "Lake Wales Pioneer of the Year" in 1986.

"Her knowledge of the history and people of of Lake Wales was frequently called upon for precise, first-person accounts," said her son, George Dixon Chandley of Lake Wales.

Mrs. Chandley, a teacher and community activist, died of natural causes associated with old age Monday (Oct. 10, 2005). She was 103.

Born in Echo, Minn., on Dec. 21, 1901, she came with her family to Winter Haven from Tugaske, Saskatchewan, in 1912.

Hard-working pioneers were needed in Lake Wales, and in 1913 the family moved to the community. They had running water but no electricity.

At the age of 15, she won a competition and received an invitation to the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson in 1917, and she and a chaperone traveled by train to Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Chandley, who attended summer classes at the University of Florida, became a teacher in a one-room school house at Lake Aurora, east of Lake Wales, where she taught briefly. She also played accompaniment for silent movies in the Scenic Theater.

After marrying Edgar Reason Chandley in 1923, she dedicated her time to raising her family and to her community. "She was present at the dedication of the Bok Singing Tower with a little daughter at the time," George Chandley said.

Mrs. Chandley was one of the last surviving members of the Wednesday Bridge Club. She volunteered for the Junior and Senior Red Cross and was a Red Cross Gray Lady. She was a member of the Sons of the American Legion, the Junior American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary. She volunteered for the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, PTA, National Honor Society, Key Club, the Lake Wales Library, the USO and Bundles for Britain. She was a Yellow Lady for the Lake Wales Hospital with more than 5,000 hours. She was a member of the Rotary Wives and the Democratic Party.

She was a member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Lake Wales for more than 88 years and for many years played the piano. She was a member of the Missionary Society and the Whatsoever Sunday school class.

Mrs. Chandley was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Edgar Reason Chandley, in 1984. In addition to her son, George Dixon Chandley, she is survived by her daughters, Marjorie Jane Chandley, Atlanta, and Ann Chandley Cullison, Tallahassee; 15 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Wales. Burial will be in Lake Wales Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lake Wales Public Library, 290 Cypress Gardens Lane, Lake Wales, FL 33853.

Marion Nelson Funeral Home, Lake Wales.