Edward W. Chase Jr., 92, Suffield, Conn., father of Robert Chase and his wife, Jacki, Iola, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010.
He was born June 8, 1917, in Springfield, Mass., the son of Edward W. and Reba (Quinn) Chase Sr. He attended Suffield Academy.
He was married for 54 years to Marguerite (Ford) Chase, who died in 1989. He worked as a carpenter and an auto mechanic until 1939 when he joined Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. He retired in 1981 after a 42-year career where he enjoyed building and testing aircraft engines for piston powered warplanes and eventually for such aircraft as the Lockheed SR-71 and the Boeing 747.
He was a volunteer for Suffield Fire Department for 49 years. He volunteered at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Conn., for many years and was a longtime member of Suffield Retired Men’s Club. He enjoyed operating automobiles, airplanes, motorcycles and powerboats, owning his own small plane in the post-war days of “seat of the pants” flying and a succession of small speedboats and motorcycles through his 80s.
He built his own home in Suffield in 1952, however, his last two years were spent in Meadowbrook Nursing Facility in Granby, Conn.
He is survived by four additional sons, Edward III and his wife, Eleanor, Suffield, Terry and his wife, Donna, Louden, Tenn., James and his wife, Maria, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Thomas and wife, Judy, Barkhamsted, Conn.; a daughter, Diane Woodard and her husband Fred, Midland Park, N.J.; 13 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
Services were Thursday at Heritage Funeral Home in West Suffield.
Memorials may be sent to Suffield Fireman’s Association, 73 Mountain Rd., Suffield, CT 06078.
Edward Chase Jr.
