Chase, Raymond A. Jr., 95, of Tampa, passed away peacefully November 27, 2015 in St. Petersburg. Raymond is survived by his two sons, Raymond “Skeet” (Susan) of Colorado and Douglas (Beth) of Wisconsin and his beloved grandson, Alexander of Colorado. Raymond had many loyal friends, one of whom stood by his side for more than fifty years, Donald Mulholland of St. Petersburg. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary, his son Robert, his parents, siblings, and many dear relatives.
Captain Raymond Aquilla Chase, Jr. was born on December 10, 1920 in Jacksonville, FL to the loving parents of Raymond and Maria Chase. Raymond married Mary Crevasse on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1942. They would remain married over 65 years until Mary’s death in 2008. Raymond was a sailor at a very young age and began his life on the sea in his teenage years, sailing around the world on some of the last remaining tall ships. During World War II, he served alongside this country’s greatest generation as a crash rescue boat captain in the Pacific, rescuing fallen fighter pilots and crew. In addition, he served overseas during the Korean War conflict. Raymond and his family lived in Tampa, where he served at MacDill AFB and retired many years later from the Air Force. He continued his career as captain of the Arara yacht for Illinois Tool Works until he retired.
Raymond was a devout member of Christ the King Catholic Parish in Tampa. He was an avid gardener, tending most intently to his outstanding roses. He was a gifted artist, painting hundreds of oil seascapes, including tugboat paintings for the families of lost vessels. Any proceeds from his paintings were donated to the Robert Chase Memorial Fund at the MacDonald Training Center. His paintings bless the walls of many homes and establishments in the Tampa area and beyond.
A service will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church located at 821 S. Dale Mabry Hwy in Tampa on December 2, 2015 at 2:00 PM. Interment will follow in a private ceremony at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Robert Chase Memorial Fund at the MacDonald Training Center
Friends and family are invited to share a memory and sign his guestbook below.
Douglas, Skeeter, Susan and Alexander,
My sympathy on the loss of your wonderful dad and grandfather.
I have so many fond memories of Aunt Mary & Uncle Raymond spending summers with them. I still hear their loving, kind & soft voices. Are you girls hungry, want to make doll clothes or some funny stories about you boys as children.
May God bless you as your mom welcomed your dad into heaven.
Together again at last.
Love you, Beck Family
Bobby Chase & Bob Crevasse were also there to greet Uncle Raymond & welcome him to his heavenly home.
Dear Chase Family..
I will always remember Mr. Chase for his kindness & the consummate gentleman that he was. Growing up across the street from him will always hold fond memories for me. God Bless Him. Gail Levy Deriso
Skeet, Douglas, Susan, Beth, & Alex,
My condolences and prayers.
Both Uncle Ray and Aunt Mary were such a blessing to so many.
I miss them immensely and am thankful for the assurance that they are reunited for eternity.
Love,
Marsha
Dear Douglas and Chase Family,
I am sorry to know of the loss of your father. My sincere condolences to you and family.
May God’s peace be with you all.
Kay Patterson
I’d like for Raymond (“Skeet”), Douglas and the other members of Ray’s family to know that I had to leave for a teleconference shortly after this afternoon’s lovely funeral service for Ray, so I was unable to share my condolences in person. As I have noted to others, one of the numerous benefits I’ve experienced over my many years of involvement with my Men’s Bible Study groups at Christ the King Catholic Church has been the opportunity to interact with Godly older men with a great deal of wisdom and incredibly interesting life experiences. Braulio Alonso and your father were the two eldest members of my Saturday morning group. We lost Braulio five years ago and Ray last week. Coincidentally, both were 94 years old when they joined the Communion of Saints (although Ray was just days shy of his 95th birthday). I thank God that I was blessed to have spent time with and learned lessons from both of these fine gentlemen. Thank you for sharing your father with us! I hope you find some comfort in knowing that he touched many lives in a positive manner.
I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Chase but after meeting his family and listening to what others said about him he must have been quite a man. My sincerest condolences to the entire Chase family.
Dear Skeet, Douglas, Susan, Beth, and Alex:
I always loved coming to visit Uncle Ray & Aunt Mary! They encouraged us to enjoy life together, whether we were climbing the tree in your back yard, riding bikes in the neighborhood, building marble ramps and runways from the bunkbeds, or observing Douglas’s latest experiment. Uncle Ray was such a kind person! I have adopted his practice of “Happy Hour”, recounting all the blessings in my life each afternoon. What a legacy of generosity and joy Uncle Ray and Aunt Mary have given! My heart is with you during this time of loss.
Love,
Janie
Of course none of us can capture the wonders and complexities of Ray and Mary Chase. I saw him bring her roses and she let him have an entire cupboard for his cereal trimmings. They stuck together and they worked things out, always with their door and home open to family, friends and strangers. In restaurants, grocery stores or medical offices, they went out of their way to lift people up and include them. Their friends were legion and long-standing. If Ray thought he was in charge of the world, he could also bend over backwards to see another side. They made my life better. If there is no afterlife, they filled up the first one with love.
Was thinking about him again. Got the notification for Mary. It was a comfort to me to know when I was far away Raymond, & Mary were around if my wife needed help.
One day she didn’t call Friday night. Saturday she didn’t answer her cell, friends on base said she left normal time. No events, anything known.
I called Raymond. He and Mary went right over. When apt staff refused to open apt via me over phone I told them. “That gentleman was in WW II he has been a ship Captain. If you do not check to see if my wife is ok. He will go to home improvement store, buy a axe, or sledge hammer and remove the door. Please hand him back the phone”. I told Raymond, he agreed to do it. The staff wisely decided this was a good reason to enter apt. (Both of our cars were there, nobody answering door)
Well she was in computer center, her cell phone had failed a backup, she was unaware. But he was ready to bust down the door for me.
I called him almost every other month. While he often didn’t know me at first. It normally came back to him.