September 24, 1936 to August 8, 2024
Word has been received from Denver of the death of former Chelsea resident, Jeff Hampel age 87.
Jeff owned a Crooked Lake cottage from 1965 to 2005 when he moved to Green Valley AZ and Dillon Colorado. He also had a family home in Troy MI.
Jeff was born in East Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Alford R. Hampel and Mae (Illingworth) Hampel Ralston.
After graduating from Purdue where he was a member of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity, Jeff served in the U.S. Army Security Agency as an analyst intercepting Soviet communications during the Berlin Wall crisis.
Leaving military service, Jeff had a 30 year career as a sales representative for Magic Chef, Litton Microwaves, and Fisher Electronics.
A lifelong athlete, Jeff played tennis with Ann Arbor clubs and later became an Arizona state amateur tennis champion. At age 70, he took up bicycling and was a winner in the El Tours de Tucson, century mile racing. In Chelsea, he followed the Chelsea Bulldogs and the Michigan Wolverines; watching their national championship season bringing great joy.
Jeff had a lifelong friendship group, the Bachelors 5. They used the Crooked Lake cottage as the base location for lake parties, Michigan tailgating, and the Wolverine, Stivers and Seitz bar hopping. The Bachelors 5 became the Wives 5 plus Second Batch and the close friendships continued over the years with stays at the cottage.
Jeff attended the First Methodist Church of Chelsea and was a fan of the Chelsea Community Fair. The Chelsea Community Parade and Demolition Derbys were special annual events.
Jeff is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ferne, his sons, Scott (Karen) and Mark (Megan) and grandchildren Kyle, Lila, Charlie, and Alex. All live in Denver. Also surviving are cousins, Lyn Trap and MacKenzie Fidler.
A graveside service was held at Oak Grove East on Friday, September 27, 2024 at 1:00. Rev. Joy Barrett officiated. Arrangements were made by Cole Funeral Chapel.
Click here for a map to the cemetery
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