Merriel Eugene (Gene) Chaney, age 77, lost his courageous battle with melanoma and passed to heaven from his home in Scottsboro, AL, on December 24, 2023. Gene was born on July 25, 1946, in Cherokee County, AL. He was named after two uncles who were killed in WWII – Merriel Louis Chaney (U.S. Marine) was killed in Saipan in the Pacific in 1944, and Horace Eugene Sloan (U.S. Army) was killed in Germany in 1945.
Gene’s parents were Frank Baker Chaney and Bernice Elkins Chaney, and he was the fourth of eight children. As a young boy, Gene always enjoyed the outdoors, all things nature, hunting, and playing sports. Oftentimes, he was the one who brought home dinner for his family while out hunting, even as young as 9 years old. He loved to read and enjoyed history and geography. Gene always loved watching and studying birds of all kinds and had a natural artistic ability to paint and draw, and later became a wood carver of ducks, birds, and mammals. Gene graduated from Sparkman High School in Madison County, AL in 1964. While in high school, he played basketball and was best known as a jump shooter. His first car was a 1959 Ford Fairlane that he bought with his first job out of high school.
Gene met his wife, Priscilla Jean Melton, in 1964, and they were married on May 28, 1966, in Huntsville, AL. They were married for 57 years. In their early years of marriage, they moved to several locations – Greenwood, SC; Galion and Mansfield, OH; Chambersburg and Hershey, PA; Dothan, AL; then settled in Scottsboro, AL in October 1971. Gene and Priscilla have two children – (Jeff)ery Eugene Chaney was born in 1968 in Chambersburg, PA. Jeff graduated from Scottsboro High School in 1986. He graduated from Calhoun Community College in 1988 where he played basketball, and from Freed Hardeman University where he played baseball in 1991. Jeff and his wife, Melinda Hood Chaney, live in Trenton, GA, and have three sons, who were Gene’s pride and joy – Halen Tate Chaney (17), Rock Cadence Chaney (15) and Axl Crue Chaney (13). There’s nothing that could put a smile on his face more than those three boys. He was very proud of them and loved them very much.
Gene and Priscilla also have a daughter, Tangela (Tangie) Chaney Holland, who was born in 1971 in Dothan AL. Tangie graduated from Scottsboro High School in 1989 and from Auburn University in 1993. Tangie and her husband, Jamie Christopher Holland, live in Birmingham, AL.
Gene retired at age 55 from Verizon, formally General Telephone Electric, after 35 years of service. Later, he took a part time job delivering materials all over the country. He loved traveling and seeing the United States from end to end, and that part-time job gave him the opportunity to do just that. It also provided him with friendships that he cherished at the pawn shop, getting to talk adventures, hunting, and sports.
Being retired allowed Gene to spend more time doing what he loved – fishing and hunting. If you needed to find him, he was usually in the woods or in his modest boat out on Lake Guntersville – typically showing up the guys with the big fancy boats with all the fish he caught! Gene had expert local knowledge of the waters in and around Goosepond/North Sauty. He often interacted with professional anglers from as early as the 1980s to more recent years. Being outdoors was his happy place, but he also loved drawing nature scenes and carving birds of all kinds – from small finches to eagles. Gene was also known to love sports, especially the Auburn Tigers. He has been a die-hard Auburn fan since 1955.
Gene and Priscilla were members of Grant Church of Christ in Grant, AL, for several years. Prior to that, they were members of Broad Street Church of Christ in Scottsboro, AL.
Gene was a warrior through his battle with melanoma, beginning in December 2019. He endured numerous surgeries, biopsies, chemotherapy, radiation, skin grafts, CT scans, MRIs, and much more. Throughout his treatment journey, he traveled to either Chattanooga, Nashville, or Huntsville every two to three weeks for almost 4 years. Priscilla was Gene’s caregiver throughout his journey, and she remained loyal to keeping him comfortable until his last breath.
Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Baker Chaney (1973) and Bernice Elkins Chaney (2019), his brothers, Walter Hezekiah Chaney (2022) and McKinley Lew Chaney (2023), and his nephew, John Clinton (Clint) Chaney, who passed away at age 35 from melanoma in 2008.
Gene is survived by his wife, his children and their spouses, three grandsons, five siblings: Patricia Ann Voce (Walter) – Columbia, TN, Sarah Chaney Cox (Don) – Harvest, AL, John Henry Chaney – Gurley, AL, Joyce Gail Chaney – Harvest, AL, and Phillip David Chaney (Angel) –Scottsboro, AL, his uncle, Hosea Chaney (Gay) – Huntsville, AL, numerous nieces and nephews, mother-in-law, Sarah Ruth Melton – Scottsboro, AL, and his sisters–in–law, Sue Elmore Chaney – Harvest, AL and Brenda Earls Chaney – Madison, AL.
Memorial service will be held at Scottsboro Funeral Home on January 6, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Melanoma Research Fund, Scottsboro/Jackson County Animal Shelter, or any animal rescue service.
The family wishes to express their appreciation for all the love and support during this difficult journey. A special thank you to Surgical Oncology (Chattanooga, TN), Tennessee Oncology (Chattanooga, TN), Tennessee Oncology (Nashville, TN), Alliance Cancer Care Radiation Oncology (Huntsville, AL), and Aveanna Hospice Care (Scottsboro, AL) for providing the care, treatments and surgeries throughout Gene’s cancer journey.
Arrangements Entrusted to Scottsboro Funeral Home
