where Chaffin grew up Chaffin was born Charlie Francis Cole on September 13, 1938, in
Little Rock, Arkansas. Her mother, Grace Francis "Frank" Cole, was a nurse anesthetist and her father, John Walton Cole, was a fourth-generation physician. Her family was very politically active. Her grandfather, Charles F. Cole, was a member of the Grant County Quorum Court, her uncle,
Ed F. McDonald, served as the
Arkansas Secretary of State and a candidate for governor and her uncle,
Jim Cole, was a state legislator. Her father was a member of the Grant County Democratic Central Committee and the
Arkansas Board of Education, her mother was involved in civil rights and marched with
Martin Luther King Jr. and her brother, John Cole, was a prosecutor and district judge. She married Sam L. Chaffin in 1958 and the couple had three children. == Political career ==