Frank S. Chase

Mr. Frank S. Chase, 90, resident of Linntown for almost 50 years, died at home on July 14, 2019. He was the son of Dr. Francis S. Chase, Jr., formerly Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Chicago, and Sue Wilbourne Elder Chase of Lynchburg, Virginia. Mr. Chase was born September 2, 1928 in Richmond, Virginia, and spent his boyhood in Richmond and Suffolk. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He spent many summers in White Stone on the Northern Neck of Virginia with his beloved grandmother Bettie Landon Carter Chase, his Uncle Flex and Aunt Elizabeth, and many cousins. In 1945 the family moved to Chicago, where he completed high school and then received a Bachelor of Philosophy and a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago. After serving as an enlisted man in the Army National Guard field artillery, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Defense Artillery, serving in this capacity for several years.

In 1954, Mr. Chase married Janet Ellen Stewart, of Chicago. They had two sons, Frank S., of Woodbridge, Virginia, and Stewart F., of Vicksburg, who survive. Mrs. Chase, a teacher of the gifted and talented with the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, preceded him in death in 1998.

Mr. Chase was a teacher from a family of educators. After teaching assignments at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the Johnson School in Chicago, he joined the faculty of Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois where he was a professor in the Sociology Department. In 1970, he moved to Lewisburg, where he joined the faculty of Susquehanna University. For the next 20 years, Professor Chase taught courses in sociology, anthropology, and social psychology, and served as Chairman of the Sociology Department. He also devised several innovative practicums that centered on the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and the Yokefellow House for troubled youths. He retired from the university in 1990.

Mr. Chase was a lover of music and was a generous patron of local musicians. He and his wife loved gardening, bird watching, and camping at R.B. Winter State Park. He and his wife did what they could to make the world a better place. He was also an animal lover and always cared for several cats, all of whom were rescues.

In addition to his sons, Mr. Chase is survived by a sister, Mrs. Suzanne Winters of Irvington, Virginia, a nephew, Michael L. Gernhardt, who he was very proud of for becoming an astronaut; two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. A brother, Dr. James Chase, formerly of the history faculty of the University of Arkansas, preceded him in death.

The family memorial will be private.

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