Chloe Heller

Chloe Victoria (Fajardo) Heller, 95, of Columbus, Ohio passed away on September 14, 2021 of complications of Alzheimer’s. She was born December 7, 1925 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America to Guillermo Fajardo and Chloe Alma (Williams) Fajardo. Her father gave her a love of animals and her mother gave her a beautiful, loving heart.

After traveling to Columbus on a steamer from Argentina to Ellis Island in 1930, Chloe was a lifelong resident of Columbus, and an avid Buckeye fan. She met her lifelong love, Ralph, at Ohio State (“Can I have the next Rumba?”). They married in Columbus on December 27, 1948 and took a train to Cincinnati for their honeymoon.

She loved cats, gardening, tending to her house plants, and sewing. Chloe loved music and a few of her favorite songs included the Beattles’ “Hey Jude” and the hymn “In the Garden”. She was a Brownie leader with the Girl Scouts of America, and she had an uncanny knack for finding four leaf clovers in the grass. She loved spending time with her family, especially the visits from Aunt Nee in the summers that would have everyone laughing so hard they couldn’t speak.

Chloe is preceded in death by her husband Ralph H. Heller, eldest daughter Susan Edith Heller Maddy, beloved sister Renee Frances Fajardo, and many beloved pets, especially her dear cats, with whom she shared much of her life. She is survived by her daughters Ann Renee Perdue and Jennifer Elizabeth Heller, “fourth daughter” Elaine Torrie, and dear family friend Luke Pettigrew, grandsons Gary (Dorinda) Maddy and Scott (Dezirae) Maddy,  nine great-grandchildren Chloe-Marie Michelle, Rebekah Lily-Jean, Gary Wayne, Edith Rose, Jenniferann Stephanie, Charles Ralph Heller, Daniel-Scott Joseph, Kalvin, Steven, sister-in-law Martha Archer, many nieces and nephews, and dear friend Mary Lou Wright, who was one of her bridal attendants. Chloe would want us to include her many “furry” grandchildren, too many to name through the years, who brought her joy.

There will not be a public service. Please honor Chloe in your own way, and consider a donation to Pets without Parents, from where Chloe adopted her last cat, Snowy.  Address:  629 Oakland Park Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43214 614-267-1297. Arrangements with Shaw Davis Funeral Home in Clintonville.

Many thanks to Lori and Wesley Glen Hospice for their support and kindness.

This poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us of Chloe:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.”