Obituary of Elton W. Chase

Elton W. Chase, Jr. passed away peacefully on June 30, 2014 at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Washington. Elton was born in Gallup, New Mexico on July 31, 1932 to Elton W. Chase, Sr. and Ann Chase. He spent the last week of his life surrounded by family and friends, displaying his usual grace and good humor. A graduate of Oregon State University, Elton spent his career as an educator, administrator and Director of Information Systems in the Washington State and community college systems. He retired from Spokane Community College in 1994. Elton and his wife, Deena, have spent the past 20 years enjoying the Oregon beach and Nehalem River from a vacation home in Wheeler, Oregon. They have also spent time traveling the world, exploring far-flung locales such as Greece, Turkey, China, and Kenya among many others. It was Elton’s great joy to be working on a “project” and his workbench was always in disarray. His other hobby was taking numerous pictures and, for this reason, was known as Paparazzi to some of his grandchildren. Elton is survived by his wife and travel partner, Deena Chase; daughter, Joann Chase; son, Paul Chase; step-son, Dean Carlson; step-daughter, Wendy Carlson; brother, Ron Chase; and sister, Carolyn Gunderson. He also leaves behind nine grandchildren who he loved and adored and they him. Memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Please leave memories of Elton or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.