By Deborah Larsen
Arthur Edwin Chatfield Jr.
Arthur Edwin Chatfield Jr. was born in Highland Park, Michigan, on May 13, 1924, the son of Arthur and Laura Williams Chatfield. The Chatfields moved to Avon Township when Arthur was a child and lived on Avon Road. Arthur attended Rochester High School and graduated with the class of 1941. While at RHS, he participated in band, glee club, and drama.
Arthur entered the U.S. Army in February 1943. He was discharged from military service in March 1946.
After the war, Arthur earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at Wayne University (now Wayne State University). He went on to further graduate studies at Yale University and was also a student of renowned composer and conductor Paul Hindemith.
Arthur eventually settled in Rhode Island, where he founded a music department at Rhode Island Junior College (now Community College of Rhode Island). He served the school’s music department for a total of 21 years, part of that time spent as department chairman. He authored two textbooks on music and had a long career as an orchestra and chorus conductor for a variety of musical organizations, including the Northwestern Community Chorus and Knight Chamber Orchestra.
Arthur Edwin Chatfield Jr. died at the age of 61 on December 8, 1985.