Edward Young Chapin IIIEdward Young Chapin III, the 91-year-old former president of Rock City Gardens, died peacefully at his home on Lookout Mountain Sunday, surrounded by his family and close friends.
Chapin was a long-time business and civic leader in the Scenic City.
In his obituary, his family said, “He will be warmly remembered as a principled man of integrity, with a gracious, kind and generous spirit.”
Chapin graduated from McCallie School in 1940, and went on to Princeton University, graduating a year early in order to accept his commission in the U.S. Army, where he served as an artillery observation pilot in the European Theatre in World War II, attaining the rank of first lieutenant.
After the war, Chapin worked with Volunteer State Life Insurance Company for two years before joining his uncle, Garnet Carter, at Rock City Gardens.
He became president of Rock City Gardens in 1950 and was chairman of the Lookout Mountain attraction until his retirement in 1986.
Chapin was known throughout Chattanooga for his service in a variety of roles and organizations, and was a longtime member of the Church of the Good Shepherd on Lookout Mountain.
He had been president of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, the Metropolitan Council for Community Services, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga and the Allied Arts Fund of Greater Chattanooga.
He also previously served on the board of directors for the McCallie School, American National Bank (now SunTrust), the Hunter Museum and Memorial Hospital, among other organizations.
A graveside service officiated by the Rev. Mac Brown will be today at 11 a.m. in Forest Hills Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to McCallie School, the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lookout Mountain, Lula Lake Land Trust, or the charity of one’s choice.