Duggan's | Obituaries List

On December 19, 1948, Willie Bea Phillips Chaffers was born, the youngest girl to Willie Harrison Phillips Jr. and Inez Robinson Phillips. On Sunday, September 27, 2026, Willie joined the ancestors after a long fight with cardiac issues. Her childhood was mostly spent in New Orleans and Donaldsonville, Louisiana. In 1959, she was baptized at Christ Baptist Church under the pastorate of Reverend W. T. Atley. In keeping with the Southern Baptist tradition her faith stood as a pillar in her life. In 1983, she joined the historic Third Baptist Church of San Francisco under the pastor emeritus, Dr. Amos C. Brown Sr., and remained a loyal member until her passing.

Growing up in New Orleans, Willie became enamored with the hymns heard at church and the popular music played on the radio. She gravitated towards vocal powerhouses like Aretha Franklin and Marian Anderson. She told her father about her interest in music, and he determined she should take piano lessons if she were serious about the craft. Willie began studying piano under Professor Edwin B. Hogan of New Zion Baptist Church in New Orleans. She honed her skills at Christ Baptist Church in Belle Rose, Louisiana, a town neighboring her hometown of Donaldsonville. In 1971, after many years of practice and study, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from her beloved alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana. Upon graduation, she taught the fundamentals of singing and piano for many years to youths such as Christopher Terrance Jones, David Anderson, Yolanda Freeman, and Kevin Francisco Choice. She also continued to play at churches such as Saint James Baptist Church in San Francisco and Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Oakland.

Willie always espoused the importance of education and followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a grade school teacher. Willie eventually went on to earn a Master of Arts from San Francisco State University in Music Education and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area permanently to begin her teaching career. Willie was a forward-thinking person who realized that electives like music were always underfunded and easily cut by the school districts. So, while working at Westlake Middle School, she decided to pursue a certification in Computer Science to stay competitive for salaried positions and to challenge herself in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She began as a music teacher and retired as a computer science teacher at Maxwell Park Elementary School after over 40 years of service as an educator. Her music rooms and computer labs were safe havens for students who wished to stay out of trouble or escape difficult home lives. Willie nurtured and cared for her students inside and outside the classroom. Like many teachers, she dipped into her own wallet to make sure struggling students had notebooks, pencils, markers, and other resources. Early in her career, while substituting teaching at Elmhurst Middle School, she met and started dating a man who poured into his students in much the same way.

On December 26, 1981, Willie and Alvin Rodney Chaffers were married in her hometown of Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The couple settled in San Francisco, California, with her sister, the Reverend (Judge) Beverley Maggie Phillips, and her loving mother, Inez Phillips. Their union produced one child whom they named Quandra Philyra Chaffers. Willie and Alvin celebrated 44 years of marriage together in December of 2026, and she laid him to rest on July 23, 2026 after a long illness.

Willie enjoyed culture and entertainment. She loved watching basketball games with her sister and discussing the latest NBA trades. She often ate out with friends and family when she was not found cooking her own delicious meals at home. Sometimes, her love of cartoon movies and comedies even rivaled her passion for music! Most of all, she gave back to current and aspiring students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by volunteering her resources on alumni boards for Xavier University and the greater Bay Area HBCU Coalition (HBCUC). She will forever be remembered for her boundless warmth.

Willie is survived by her loving daughter, Quandra Chaffers, and her doting sister, Beverley Phillips, both residents of San Francisco, California. She leaves to mourn an extended family of close cousins, cherished in-laws, former students, and dear friends. Willie is preceded in death by her husband, Alvin Chaffers, and her parents, Willie and Inez Phillips. She also joins in death five maternal uncles: Atkins, Werlin, Stanley, John, and Whitney Robinson. She is further preceded in death by three maternal aunts Eva Collins, Ora Barber, and Ella Robinson. Likewise, she joins in death three paternal uncles: Kahn, Colin, Winston, O’Neal, and Joseph Phillips. She also joins in death three paternal aunts Emanuela Spurlock, Artelia Smith, and Magna Ray.