| Frederick Chase Jr. | |
| March 19, 1931 - January 03, 2012 | |
| of Waukegan, Illinois | |
| Memorial Service: 3:00 p.m. Saturday, January 07, 2012 at The Church of the Holy Spirit 400 East Westminster Road Lake Forest, Illinois 60045 | |
| Frederick Chase, Jr., 80, died suddenly on January 3, 2012 in Waukegan, IL. He was born on March 19th, 1931 in Hanover, NH. The son of the late Virginia Gerould and Frederick Chase II, Fred Jr. lived in Jackson Heights, NY until he was 8 years old. He then moved to Florida to live with his father and grandfather which was, in his view, a great improvement. After the closed in views of New York City, he loved the open expanses of the Florida sky. It was in Dunedin where he spent his formative years that he developed his love for sailing and the outdoors. He attended Clearwater High School, though he transferred to, and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
The Chase family has had a long history with Dartmouth College which began in the early 1800's. Out of respect and reverence for that close connection, Fred chose to continue his studies there in Hanover. Always a voracious reader, Fred majored in English and History. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and from that brotherhood, forged many lifelong friendships. He was also in the NROTC. After graduating from Dartmouth in 1953, he joined the United States Marine Corps where he completed his service as a First Lieutenant. The summer following Fred spent sponge diving with his brother John in Tarpon Springs, FL.
Fred began his legal studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and went on to graduate from the University of Florida School of Law. After law school he remained in Florida, returning to Dunedin. In 1961 he married Nancy Dicknson Shrewsbury. He and his family lived at 951 Victoria Drive which overlooked the beautiful St. Joseph Sound and Caladesi Island. Fred built a successful law practice in New Port Richey, FL and practiced family and estate law for the next thirty-seven years. He was a Charter Member of the Rotary Club and on the Board of the Barnett Bank in New Port Richey.
Fred retired in 1996, and although it is usually quite the opposite, he left Florida and relocated to New England. He ended up in Stowe, VT to be near his sons Nathan and Daniel Chase. While in Stowe, Fred pursued his love of the outdoors; skiing, hiking, and playing in the snow with his grandsons Sam and Benjamin Chase. During his retirement, Fred laid the foundation of his staunch commitment to the environment, a passion he carried with him until his death. While in Vermont, he purchased a large parcel of land in the mountains called "Maple Run" which he subsequently transferred to the Stowe Land Trust in perpetuity.
In 2008, Fred left Stowe and moved to the Chicago area to be with his partner, Lynne Atherton. He was an active member of The Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, IL. During the past four years, Fred spent much of his time and energy focusing on environmental stewardship: Battery recycling, energy audits, rain barrels, composting, meatless Mondays, CFL's and the Prius. In 2010, Fred invited the Reverend Canon Sally Bingham to keynote the Episcopal Diocesan Convention, with the resulting resolution that all the churches have an energy audit within the next two years. This past summer, he invited Dartmouth's Big Green Bus (running on used cooking oil) to the Church of the Holy Spirit. It was actions like this that fueled Fred's great hope for a greener future. It was of the utmost importance to him that to understand sustainability, people open themselves up and learn to step outside of their comfort zones.
Fred and his partner Lynne spent much of the past few years traveling around visiting friends and family - one of this year’s highlights being a visit to Washington, DC for the Solar Decathlon. Just in this past year they visited Prince Edward Island, the Everglades, Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Boulder, Colorado. They spent time in Baltimore visiting Fred's son and grandchildren, and in Palm Harbor with brother John and his wife Priscilla.
Fred was pre-deceased by one son, Nathan Chase. He is survived by his partner Lynne Atherton of Waukegan, Illinois, younger sister Beth Chase of Raleigh, North Carolina, brother John and wife Priscilla Chase of Palm Harbor, Florida, son Robert Chase of Denver, Colorado, Nathan's widow Susan Chase, his former wife Nancy Dickinson Chase, son Daniel Chase and his partner Jennifer Morgan, two grandsons, Samuel and Benjamin Chase, all of whom reside in Baltimore, Maryland.
He will be buried at the Dartmouth College burial ground in Hanover, New Hampshire. . In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to The Regeneration Project, 220 Montgomery Street, Suite 450, San Francisco, CA 94104. For additional information contact Wenban Funeral Home, Lake Forest, IL (847) 234-0022 or www.wenbanfh.com
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