Nokesville/Bristow resident dies at 101

Frances Elizabeth Chandler, a longtime Nokesville/Bristow resident and one of the founders of the club that started the Prince William County Fair, died at ManorCare in Towson, Md., Thursday. She was 101.

She and her husband, Hugh Frank Chandler, were among the founding members of The Veterans Farm Club, which launched the annual Prince William Fair.

The club was formed by a group of WWII veterans who met while attending a school for young farmers under the G.I. Bill of Rights. The veterans decided to stay in touch by starting the club and the county fair, now in its 60th year.

Earlier in her adult life, Chandler worked as a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher in Baltimore, where she helped raise her niece, Rosalie Antos.

"We were a close family," Antos said. "She'd take me to school with her."

Later, Chandler served as a postal clerk in the Nokesville Post Office. Nokesville native and rural letter carrier Robert Beahm, who had met the Chandlers through the Veterans Farm Club, worked with Chandler for about 14 years. When Chandler retired, he wrote a poem in her honor. "She was a lady you couldn't help but respect and love," he said.

Beahm described the Chandlers as almost like godparents to his children. Beahm recalled Chandler once saying, "Your children meant everything to us."

Antos' husband, Donald, also recalled Chandler, whom he had known for 60 years through his wife.

"We've been married for 55 years," he said. "So I've known her a good, long time. She was always very cordial. She was able to deal with people and problems. She never lost her temper."

Chandler and her husband lived on what was formerly Horseshoe Bend, a 433-acre farm in Bristow. Donald Antos said the Chandlers owned chickens and would send the Antoses eggs during WWII.

"She loved that farm," he said. "There was no electricity, no plumbing; but she was raised that way, so it was normal to her."

The Chandlers eventually moved to a home on Flory Road in Nokesville. After her husband's death, Frances Chandler went to live with the Antoses, whose son then moved into the Nokesville home where he and his family still reside.

Chandler will be buried at Valley View Cemetery in Nokesville where, according to Donald, three generations of family are also buried.

"There must be 40 to 50 relatives there," he said.

The Antoses remember their aunt as an amazing woman. Said Donald, "To the very end, her mind was clear and sharp."

The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. today at Pierce Funeral Home, 9609 Center St., Manassas, where funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. with Pastor Mark Godfrey officiating. Interment will follow at Valley View Cemetery on Valley View Drive, Nokesville.