Jerry Chappelle, Oconee County artist and Happy Valley Pottery founder, dies at age 83
Jerry Chappelle, who with his wife Kathy helped make Oconee County a recognized art hub with the founding of Happy Valley Pottery, died this week. Chappelle was 83 years old.
A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday in the chapel of Lord & Stephens Funeral Home West in Watkinsville. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. A celebration of Chappelle’s life is set for Oct. 21 at Happy Valley Pottery, located at 1210 Carson Graves Road in Watkinsville.
“Jerry was kind of famous for his barbecued chicken, so we’re probably going to cook some chicken, play some music, tell some stories and have a good time,” said Kathy Chapelle.
A native of Missouri, Chappelle moved with his family from Minnesota in 1970 to teach ceramics courses at the University of Georgia. With nine colleagues from Minnesota, the Chappelles established Happy Valley Pottery as an artists’ community and later opened Chappelle’s Gallery, which closed in 2018.
“We moved (to Georgia on) July 27, 1970,” said Kathy Chappelle. “We had come from Minnesota. Jerry did his undergraduate work at Murray State in Kentucky and got his MFA at the University of Minnesota. We came to Georgia so Jerry could teach at the university and he did that for six years and we decided we would do it on our own and we were very successful doing it on our own.”
Through the years, hundreds of artists lived and worked at Happy Valley. Although the Chappelles – who in 2015 received the Governor’s Award for Arts & Humanities – eventually moved from their iconic art compound, the couple maintained a presence there, continuing to create art.
“The last time I saw Jerry, he was dipping a platter in glaze just last week,” said glass artist Loretta Eby, who has rented space at Happy Valley since 1987.
In addition to operating a successful pottery business, the Chappelles provided an immense influence on artists from near and far and were well known for their intensive workshops, of which hundreds of artists would participate.
“When we moved here, I was 6 years old and there were certainly artists here at the time, but the activities they did with Happy Valley along with organizing galleries and things like that put the Oconee/Athens arts scene on the map, not just on a local level but on a regional and national level,” said Dan Chappelle, the couple’s son.
“There was 53 years’ worth of influence,” said Joe Callaway of Callaway Clay, who came to work for the Chappelles at Happy Valley while still in high school 27 years ago and now lives and works there. “Jerry was a very kind and warm person. He was very knowledgeable in so many different arts, but mainly the ceramic world. He always had time for anybody, whether it was to help an artist grow or if a friend came by to sit and talk. He always made time for you and he wanted to see people succeed.”
Mr. Chappelle was also instrumental in the establishment of the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in 1994, providing further support and encouragement for area artisans.
Art therapy: Wildlife art collaboration, upcoming show, helped Jackson County woman recover from stroke
Performing arts: UGA Performing Arts Center announces eclectic lineup for 2023-24 concert season
“He was definitely a supporter of OCAF and he and Happy Valley Pottery participated in our annual pottery invitation, Pottery Perspectives, which is to support potters in Georgia but is also a fundraiser for OCAF,” said Wendy Cooper, OCAF’s executive director. “He was very involved in that, as well as being a co-founder. They had a vision to start an organization in Oconee County to highlight the arts and they certainly did because OCAF has been very successful in supporting artists in this area, and Jerry is one of the people responsible for that.”
The Chappelles were married in October 1963 and would have celebrated their 60th anniversary this year.
“Jerry was born in Fredericktown Missouri, about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis, but he grew up in Farmington, Missouri,” said Kathy Chappelle. “Our wedding invitations sat in the post office in Farmington, Minnesota, for two weeks before getting to Farmington, Missouri, and then we moved to Farmington, Georgia.”
The Chappelles had three children – Dan, Lisa and Mark (who died in 1978) – seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
There’s little question that Chappelle’s contribution to the art community will long be remembered.
“I am where I am today because I was blessed with having Jerry and Kathy in my life at the right time,” said Eby.” He was an amazing man. There was nobody like Jerry Chappelle.”
“I’m from Athens, so I had known about the Chapelles and Happy Valley Pottery for years and years and loved the fact they’d moved here in the 1970s to start an artists’ community,” said Cooper, who has served as OCAF’s director for the past two years.
“When they opened Happy Valley Pottery, it was so well known it had a lot to do with attracting other potters to the area. … He is fondly remembered in this community. His legacy lives on, for sure.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee County artist, potter Jerry Chappelle dies at age 83
