DAYTONA BEACH — William “Bill” Michael Chanfrau Sr., founder of the law firm Chanfrau & Chanfrau whose billboards can be seen throughout Volusia and Flagler counties, has died. He was 78.
Chanfrau died on Aug. 23 at a hospital in Akuryeri, Iceland, after suffering injuries from a fall and then contracting pneumonia. He was there on a cruise with his wife Muffi and two friends from high school.
Chanfrau grew up in Daytona Beach where his family has been in the legal profession nearly a century. After a stint in the Navy where he rose to the rank of lieutenant, he earned his law degree from Stetson University and worked three years at other firms before opening his own practice in 1976. It was renamed Chanfrau & Chanfrau the next year when his older brother Phillip joined the firm. The practice today specializes in personal injury, wrongful death and employment law and is run by his son Bill Jr. and daughter Kelly.
“My brother and I modeled our careers after him,” said Kelly Chanfrau of their father. “His spirit for justice and service to others is unmatched.”
Chanfrau was a ‘legal titan’
Chanfrau was president of the Volusia County Bar Association in the early 1980s. He was honored in 1982 by the Florida Bar Association with a pro bono service award for starting the Volusia County Service Project to provide free legal assistance to the poor. He became founding president of the Volusia County Civil Trial Attorneys Association in 1989. He was recognized twice with the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers’ Silver Eagle Award.
He was involved in the community as well as his church. He was a past president of the Rotary Club of Ormond Beach, a longtime member of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce, served on the vestry at St. James Episcopal Church in Ormond Beach, and led a weekly Bible study at his office for businessmen.
“Bill had a remarkable ability to connect with people,” said retired appellate court judge David Monaco, a longtime friend. “He was a passionate advocate for his clients and a pillar of the legal community.”
Daytona Beach attorney Lori Sandman, current president of the Volusia County Bar Association, echoed Monaco’s sentiments, adding the same can be said of his family. “They are so embedded in the community,” she said.
He had a ‘great passion for people’
Chanfrau & Chanfrau will mark its 50th anniversary in January. It has grown to five attorneys, 28 employees and offices in Daytona Beach, Palm Coast and DeLand.
Chanfrau’s wife Muffi is a retired Volusia County Schools educator and longtime owner of A+ Tutoring in Ormond Beach. She said her husband’s “true passion was helping people who had suffered a personal injury. He felt they’d already been victimized once and didn’t want them to be victimized again (during the legal process). He didn’t care about the money. That was not his motivation. I’m so proud of him.”
Bill Jr. joined Chanfrau & Chanfrau in 2001 after three years working for the state attorney’s office. Kelly joined the family practice in 2010 after working for a law firm in Tampa.
“I always wanted to be my father,” said Bill Jr. “He was always so compassionate, ethical and hard working.”
Kelly said watching her dad in court “was magic. He knew how to touch people’s hearts. His oratory skills were unparallelled. If Dad was there, we always seemed to win. He had a great passion for people and not just the powerful.”
Chanfrau’s youngest daughter, Priscilla, earned a degree in fashion merchandising and business, then embarked on a career that took her to Europe, New York, Boston, Atlanta and Tampa. She returned home to become marketing director at Chanfrau & Chanfrau, followed by stints in the nonprofit sector. Since 2020, she has been a Realtor with Adams, Cameron & Co.
Priscilla, a past recipient of “Influential Women in Business” awards from The News-Journal, credits her dad’s support each step of her career. “My father poured his heart into being a wonderful father, husband and grandfather,” she said. “He taught us the importance of kindness, family and community service.”
Friends pay tribute to Chanfrau
Orlando attorney Walt Ketcham is a longtime friend who teamed up with Chanfrau on cases over the years.
One in particular that stands out was when they represented an elderly man who suffered brain damage after being forcibly tossed out of a liquor store. After winning a sizeable settlement for their client, “Bill made sure he got into a nice nursing home that served fried chicken (one of the client’s favorite foods),” said Ketcham. “Bill also went back to take him fishing. So many plaintiffs’ lawyers, once the case is finished, literally forget about them, but not Bill. He treated his clients like family.
“They (Chanfrau & Chanfrau) have a slogan on their billboards, ‘Let our family help your family,’ and that’s the truth. That (mindset) was something Bill instilled both in his family and me. I just lost my absolute best friend.”
Nancy Lohman is chair of the Civic League of the Halifax Area. “Bill (Sr.) and Muffi and their family have been dear friends of our family and so many others for decades,” she said. “Bill was admired, loved and respected. He has left a great legacy — his family — who are all such wonderful individuals and so committed to our community.”
He was classmates with future rock stars
Chanfrau was born on Sept. 11, 1946 to Marjorie Lynch Chanfrau, a former Miss Daytona Beach, and Phillip Joseph Chanfrau Sr., a World War II pilot. His father went on to become a Volusia County court reporter, a position also held by Marjorie’s mother, Gail S. Lynch, who became the county’s first court reporter in 1936.
At Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Chanfrau’s classmates included future rock music legends Duane and Gregg Allman (who went on the form the Allman Brothers).
“He got them to perform (when their band was called the Allman Joys) at a dance at his fraternity house at Florida State University,” recalled Muffi, who also attended FSU and was his girlfriend at the time.
Chanfrau’s other Seabreeze classmates included two friends who achieved success both as musicians and in the legal profession: Rob Rouse and Sylvan Wells. Their band, The Nightcrawlers, had a hit song “The Little Black Egg” that rose to No. 85 on the national music charts in 1966. Rouse later became a Seventh Judicial Circuit Court judge while Wells became a lawyer.
‘He went out with a flourish’
Chanfrau and his wife were on a cruise in Iceland with Rouse and Wells and his wife when he suffered a fall that landed him in the hospital. He died Aug. 23, but not before speaking with his extended family one last time via a Zoom video call from his hospital bed.
“His friends should know that in true Bill fashion, (he) told a few jokes, expressed love for his family, asked for a beer, a lighter for a cigar, and ate several cookies and two pastries,” according to an obituary notice written by his family.
“He went out with a flourish,” Muffi told The Daytona Beach News-Journal. “His whole life has been about grabbing life and making the most of it.”
Chanfrau in his own words
Chanfrau in April 2024 was honored by a surprise “toast and roast” retirement party at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach where he was asked to reflect on his life. “I love practicing with my kids — until I found out I couldn’t fire them!,” he said jokingly, before adding, “My greatest accomplishment is my family.”
Chanfrau is survived by his wife of 57 years Muffi, son Bill Jr. (Liz), daughters Kelly (Richard Bailey) and Priscilla, six grandchildren and a great-grandson. (His brother Phillip died in 2018.)
A celebration of life for Chanfrau will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, 11 a.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 38 S. Halifax Drive, Ormond Beach. Memorial donations may be made to St. James Episcopal Church Outreach Ministries (which includes Halifax Urban Ministries, Hope Place and Family Renew) at stjamesobfl.org or to the church.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Founder of Daytona law firm Chanfrau & Chanfrau remembered as champion for the victimized
Reporting by Clayton Park, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
