Russell Edward Chase, Jr. was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts May 8, 1924. He was the son of Russell Edward and Marion Louise Chase, and was the oldest child in a loving, happy, Christian family along with three sisters and a brother. He graduated from Holyoke High School in 1941 and entered Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In his sophomore year he entered the Army Air Corp as an Aviation Cadet and became a pilot. He flew 48 combat missions in the Mediterranean Theater as a B26 and B25 pilot, winning the AirMedal with four oak leaf clusters.
He returned to the United States in early 1945 and married his wife of sixty-two years, Faye Phennel in Shreveport, Louisiana. They spent the next six months in Marianna, Florida where he flew A-26’s.
In October 1945, he was discharged from the Air Corp and resumed his studies at Dartmouth College. He obtained a B.A. in Economics and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Amos Tuck School.
After graduation, he joined International Paper Company in New York City. He spent twenty years with that company and rose to the position of Vice President and National Sales Manager of the Paper Division. During that period he served as President of the National Sales Association of the paper industry and was an Officer in the American Paper Institute. In 1961, he graduated from the Advanced Management program at Columbia University.
In 1967, he joined Eastex, Inc., a subsidiary of Time, Inc. as a Vice-President of Sales, and moved to Beaumont, Texas with his family. He spent twenty-two years in that capacity and retired in 1989 as Senior Vice-President of Temple-Inland, Inc.
He was a devoted husband and father and took great interest and pride in his three children and seven grandchildren. For twenty-five years, he enjoyed playing golf with his friends at the Beaumont Country Club and friends at Rayburn Country Club. He spent a great deal of his leisure time with family and friends at Rayburn Country playing golf, boating, and water skiing with his children. He also loved to read and play contract bridge and really enjoyed his memberships in two investment clubs, Profits Unlimited and Saxet, and with a group of twenty-five retired men called Dun Workin’.
He and Faye were members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church where he served as an Elder, and as a Deacon, and as a Trustee. He also served on the Board of St. Andrew’s Church Foundation.
For many years, he was a member of the Rotary Club of Beaumont where he was a Paul Harris Fellow. After he retired, he was active in the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce where he served as a Director and on the Executive Committee.
He is survived by his wife, Faye; sons, Russell and wife Terri of Houston and Doug of Beaumont; daughter, Susan and husband Brad Liles of Plano; grandchildren, Blake and Michael Chase of Houston, Andrew and Edward Chase of Beaumont, and Ashley, Mark, and Matt Liles of Plano; sister, Mary Lou Murphy of Scituate, Massachusetts; and brother, Donald and wife Regina of Margate, Florida.
The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to Thelma Alexander for her loving care and devotion to Russ and Faye.
Honorary pallbearers are Charles Glass, Jim Yarbrough, Marvin Park, Ron Niederstadt, Abe Henderson, Aubrey Barlow, Jack Hogge, Ralph Lunsford, Don Tantzen, Tom Lamb, Charles Reaganbrecht, Dana Burnett, and George Dishman.
Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church with entombment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. A gathering of family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Neuropathy Association, 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 942, New York, New York 10165-0930 or St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Foundation, 1350 North 23rd Street, Beaumont, Texas 77706.
