Gordon Elms Chase

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Gordon Elms Chase

SAN JOSE, CA - Gordon Chase died peacefully of Alzheimer’s disease in San Jose, CA at the age of 92. He was born in Woodstock on September 27, 1918, the second of three sons of Alden and Marguerite Chase and grew up in Bryant Pond. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1941 with a degree in business. While studying at the university, he met Janice Merrill, a fellow student. They were married in 1941 just before he joined the Marine Corps.

He served as a communications officer in the Twelfth Defense Battalion of the Marine Corps, which engaged in some of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater in World War II. He was awarded a Bronze Star for establishing effective communications networks, under extreme conditions, on both Woodlark Island, British New Guinea and on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. He rose to the rank of captain during the war.

In 1947 Mr. Chase began a 30-year career with Sears Roebuck & Co. He was manager of Sears stores in Waterville (1951-1955), West Warwick, RI (1955-1956), Schenectady, NY (1956-1960), Bangor (1960-1965), and Warwick, RI (1965-1977). He retired in 1977 and moved with his wife to Punta Gorda, FL, where he enjoyed a retirement of tennis, fishing, boating and harvesting his oranges and grapefruit. Every summer he and his wife would return to Boothbay, where they kept a second home. In 1997, no longer able to drive the long distance from Florida to Maine and back, they returned to their home state and settled in a seaside house in Harpswell, just outside of Brunswick.

When Mrs. Chase passed away in 2008, Mr. Chase's Alzheimer’s disease had progressed to the point that he needed full-time care in a specialized facility. He moved to San Jose, CA , where his older daughter, Sharon Bynum, could oversee his care. His younger daughter, Andrea Argraves, lives in East Greenwich, RI.

Mr. Chase was predeceased by his wife, Janice, his older brother, Faulkner Chase of Portland, ME and his younger brother, Steven Chase of Norway, ME. He is survived by his daughters, Sharon Bynum (husband Bill) and Andrea Argraves (husband Neil); granddaughter, Betsy Bynum (husband Greg Hill); grandsons, Phillip Argraves (wife Melissa), Randall Argraves (wife Gretchen), William Bynum, Russell Bynum (wife Terri), and Brett Bynum; seven great-grandchildren; three nephews, William Chase, Jeffrey Chase and Gregory Chase and two nieces, Jennifer Chase and Lerryn Besancon.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, 322 8th Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001 or on-line at www.alzfdn.org.