CHASE, Russell E.

Russell E. Chase, "Russ", who resided in Tempe, Arizona, in recent years, died March 25, 2004 of a stroke. He had just celebrated his 90th birthday on March 19. Russ was born in Des Moines in 1914, and lived there and in West Des Moines most of his life before retiring to Arizona with his first wife Mildred E. (Willey) Chase whom he married in 1940. Russ was the oldest son of Guy and Judith (Stone) Chase. Russ served in WWII in the Army Signal Corps and was stationed in the US and overseas on Guam. He was on board ship heading to Guam when he learned the war had ended, but spent a year getting back home. After returning, Russ began working for AT&T and later as an engineer for Northwestern Bell Telephone, which turned out to be his life-long career. After retiring, Russ and Mildred made their home in Apache Junction before moving to Friendship Village in Tempe. They loved to travel, particularly with an Airstream club and had many happy years before Mildred died in 1994 leaving Russ alone and wishing he was back in Des Moines. That all changed when he met and married Alma Comstock when they were both 82. Russ and Alma ("Twink") enjoyed life for several years before she became ill. Russ was a devoted caretaker for both his wives and never left their sides during their illnesses. Russ was the ultimate "do it yourselfer" and loved woodworking, gadgets, photography and traveling. He and Mildred crisscrossed the US and Europe many times with Russ always behind the wheel logging untold miles. He kept his driver's license to the end. Russ is survived by his wife Alma, his daughters Carol (Bill) Culmer of Des Moines and Nancy (Ron) Coolley of Lake Forest, Illinois, his grandson Ryan (Jade) Gamble of Soldotna, Alaska, two granddaughters, Melinda (Ryan) Duritsa of Chicago, Illinois and Michelle (Chris) Moreno of West Des Moines, and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Ruth (Bob) Savage of Des Moines and his brother Hubert (Ethel) Chase of Dallas, Texas. He was preceded in death by his brothers Lyle Chase and David Chase, both of Des Moines. A reception is planned at Friendship Village in late April and a graveside service will be held in Des Moines in early summer. Memorial contributions may be sent to the family and will be donated to the Friendship Village Woodshop. Published in the Arizona Republic on 4/4/2004.