Robert M. Chase
Robert M. Chase died at the Dirigo Pines Retirement Community in Orono on November 18, 2024 after a very good and full life of more than 100 years.
He was born in southern Maine in June, 1924 the oldest son of Edward E. Chase II and Marion J. Chase. Bob attended Cape Elizabeth schools and graduated from high school in 1941, entering the University of Maine in the fall of that year as a Civil Engineering major.
He enlisted in the Army and entered active duty in June of 1943. After basic training, Bob was assigned to Company E, 342nd Infantry, which was part of the 86th (Blackhawk) Division. The division served 60-odd days on the front lines in Europe in the final months of the war there and was then deployed to the Pacific Theatre shortly before the war ended there, serving a two-year, post-war policing action in the Philippines.
Bob returned to the University of Maine after his military service was completed and graduated in 1948. He went directly to work for Bancroft & Martin, a steel fabricator in South Portland. In 1951, he married his fiancee Marjory, who was from Valois, Quebec. Marjory and Bob went on to have three sons, Dan, John, and David, all of whom were raised in Hampden and graduated from Hampden Academy and the University of Maine.
In 1954, Bancroft & Martin elected to build a subsidiary shop in Brewer. The following spring, Bob was offered the job of supervising the construction and stayed on to manage this new shop, which proved to be a success. In 1971, he was invited to become a partner at Nickerson & O’Day, a General Contractor based in Brewer. He accepted this offer and remained there until his retirement in 1989.
Bob’s favorite pastimes were time spent at the family’s camp on Pleasant River Lake, family outings of all kinds, outdoor sports (especially golf at the Penobscot Valley Country Club), penny-ante poker, and involvement with any number of civic and charitable organizations over the years. As a great booster of Maine, he was an enthusiast about countless aspects of the state and supported a variety of its organizations and causes, particularly through the Maine Community Foundation. Bob was a man of his word, a complete pragmatist, and a believer in getting any job done in the most effective and least flashy way possible. Two of his favorite sayings were “Don’t make it bigger, make it better” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Bob is survived by his son Dan and wife Pat, his son John and wife Michele, his son David and wife Amy, four grandchildren – Michael and wife Jennifer, Andrew and wife Rebecca, Allison, and Nolan, and four great-grandchildren – Connor, Ethan, William, and Jack. A memorial service will be held at Dirigo Pines in the new year.
Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Chase, please visit our flower store.
Robert M. Chase died at the Dirigo Pines Retirement Community in Orono on November 18, 2024 after a very good and full life of more than 100 years.
He was born in southern Maine in June, 1924 the oldest son of Edward E. Chase II and Marion J. Chase. Bob attended Cape Elizabeth schools and graduated from high school in 1941, entering the University of Maine in the fall of that year as a Civil Engineering major.
He enlisted in the Army and entered active duty in June of 1943. After basic training, Bob was assigned to Company E, 342nd Infantry, which was part of the 86th (Blackhawk) Division. The division served 60-odd days on the front lines in Europe in the final months of the war there and was then deployed to the Pacific Theatre shortly before the war ended there, serving a two-year, post-war policing action in the Philippines.
Bob returned to the University of Maine after his military service was completed and graduated in 1948. He went directly to work for Bancroft & Martin, a steel fabricator in South Portland. In 1951, he married his fiancee Marjory, who was from Valois, Quebec. Marjory and Bob went on to have three sons, Dan, John, and David, all of whom were raised in Hampden and graduated from Hampden Academy and the University of Maine.
In 1954, Bancroft & Martin elected to build a subsidiary shop in Brewer. The following spring, Bob was offered the job of supervising the construction and stayed on to manage this new shop, which proved to be a success. In 1971, he was invited to become a partner at Nickerson & O’Day, a General Contractor based in Brewer. He accepted this offer and remained there until his retirement in 1989.
Bob’s favorite pastimes were time spent at the family’s camp on Pleasant River Lake, family outings of all kinds, outdoor sports (especially golf at the Penobscot Valley Country Club), penny-ante poker, and involvement with any number of civic and charitable organizations over the years. As a great booster of Maine, he was an enthusiast about countless aspects of the state and supported a variety of its organizations and causes, particularly through the Maine Community Foundation. Bob was a man of his word, a complete pragmatist, and a believer in getting any job done in the most effective and least flashy way possible. Two of his favorite sayings were “Don’t make it bigger, make it better” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Bob is survived by his son Dan and wife Pat, his son John and wife Michele, his son David and wife Amy, four grandchildren – Michael and wife Jennifer, Andrew and wife Rebecca, Allison, and Nolan, and four great-grandchildren – Connor, Ethan, William, and Jack. A memorial service will be held at Dirigo Pines in the new year.
Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.
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