TAMPA, Fla. — Jim Lord Chaplin passed away on May 25th in Tampa, Fla. from complications following a fall. He was 68. A veteran broadcaster, he played Bozo the Clown on WSPD-TV in Toledo, Ohio in the 60’s, worked as a radio D.J. at WDAE in Tampa, Fla. in the mid 70’s leaving in ‘76 to join WIRA and WOVV in Ft. Pierce, Fla. He subsequently became the stations’ General Manager in 1981. In ‘86 he left to buy his own station in the same market which he sold two years later. In ‘89 Jim took his family to Colorado where he managed stations in Sterling and Montrose. While in Montrose, he created the Montrose Jazz Festival and the Montrose Blue Grass Festival. His lasting gift to the city is the Montrose Botanic Gardens which he conceived and, as the organization’s first President, broke ground and helped to create the Botanical Society that is a permanent part of the beauty of the city. He was the Past President of the Florida Association of Broadcasters (1986-1987), Past President of the Treasure Coast Advertising Federation in Ft. Pierce, Fla., a lifelong member of the Rotarians International, Sertoma’s Man of the Year and Past President of the Tampa Writers Alliance. His interests were many. He was an avid world traveler, an excellent painter, a gourmand, an oenophile and a published author.
He was born James Paul Chaplin in Lockport, N.Y. on July 6, 1940. He was raised in Buffalo. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; daughters, Jennifer Latham, Jessica Chaplin and Lauren Ferwerda; son, David MacFarlane; son-in-law, Bret Latham; grandchildren, Mikaela, Koop Ethan, Mya, Griffin, Rowan and Hunter; sisters, Kathy Paone and Susan Schillace and numerous nieces and nephews. There will be a small private service in Buffalo, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The Montrose Botanic Gardens.
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