Born and raised in Branson, Missouri, Donald Eugene Chaney lived a life filled with family, travel, a successful career and service to his country. He was an Attorney at Law who, until his retirement, practiced in the firm of Chaney & McCurry LLP, where he specialized in probate, trust, corporation and elder law.

In 1949, Don was selected as one of 25 cadets from the United States to participate in a British-American foreign exchange program with the Royal Air Force in Great Britain. In 1950, he was selected to give an oral report to the Congress of the United States regarding the program. A life long Hogs fan, Don attended the University of Arkansas and was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity in 1950. In 1952, he was elected into the Phi Eta Sigma honorary academic society and earned his B.A. degree in 1954. Following college, he served three years in the Air Force as a navigator.

After Don's years in the service, he attended the University of Missouri School of Law, where he was elected to the Board of Editors of Missouri Law Review. He graduated in 1960 with a J.D. degree and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Following graduation, he was employed in the Trust Division of Chicago Title and Trust Company and was admitted to the Bar in Missouri, Illinois and the Supreme Court of the United States. Don was selected to be an estate planning instructor with the ABA National Trust School at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and authored educational material for use in conjugation with that program. He is listed in the National Registry of Who's Who 2000 edition.

Don and his wife Caryl married in 1956, moved from Chicago to Springfield in 1967, and spent all the time they could in the outdoors with their three children and friends, camping in Missouri, Arkansas and across the United States. They also loved spending time on the water, taking many canoe trips down the Buffalo River and boating on Bull Shoals lake. Don and Caryl traveled the world together, making friends across the different countries they visited.

Don was a member of Greene County Estate Planning Council, Hickory Hills Country Club, Kingsway Methodist Church and a lifetime member of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.

Don will be most remembered for his quick sense of humor, ability to always tell colorful jokes and stories, and the clever nicknames for his loved ones and friends. Don is loved and missed by his wife Caryl and their two daughters, Elizabeth (husband Slade Strickland), Diane (husband Andy Forrest), son Jim (wife Marty) and four grandchildren: Rachael (husband Brandon Howle), Sara, Maridan and Ruth Anne.

Visitation service will be held from 4-6 pm on Friday at Kingsway United Methodist Church. Private interment will be held Saturday morning.

Donations in Don's memory may be sent to The Salvation Army of Springfield, where he was a former board member.