Frederick Corey Chase Jr.

Fred Chase Jr. died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday morning, October 20th. He was born in Ann Arbor on February 17, 1922, He lived his early years in Dexter before his family moved to Ann Arbor. He attended Assumption School in Windsor for one year and graduated from St. Thomas High School in 1941. For all of his Ann Arbor years he was an active member of St. Thomas Church. He served in the U.S. Army, 409th Infantry, 103rd Division as a gunner in an antitank company from November 1942 through November of 1945. He fought in the European Theater during World War II. In 1942 Fred met the love of his life, Eileen Wiehn. They married in 1943 and were together until her death in 2007, a 64 year bond with much love. From 1941 until military service and after, he was employed by Michigan Bell Telephone Company for 43 years, retiring in 1984 Twenty five of those years he served as president of Communication Workers Local 4011. At age 58 he quit smoking and took up running and ran the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon. After retirement he spent several years working part time at the Maison-Edwards Cigar Store in the Nickel's Arcade. He would rein down curses on his children if it were not mentioned that he was one of the most loyal Detroit Tiger and Michigan Wolverine fans from the 1930s forward, regularly regaling his family with tales of the exploits of legends like of Hank Greenberg and Tom Harmon. In 1948 he joined AA and remained an active member throughout the rest of his life, providing a huge amount of 12th step support to people who were where he once had been. John Stugh’s devotion to Fred has resulted in his being considered as a fourth brother by the family. He is survived by 4 children, Fred J., Joanne (John Mattillo), Pat (Mikki), and Mike; 7 grandchildren Fred J's- Chelsea Willis, Corey Chase (Jeremy Rippey) , Pat & Bonnnie Chase's - Lauren (Alex Rojas) and Jesse; Mikes - Eric (Andrea) Emma , and Keuter; and 7 grandchildren: Chelsea's and Jim Waldecker's - Caitlyn Willis, Andrew Waldecker; Eric and Andrea's -Camryn, Logan, and Addison; Lauren and Alex's - Aiden and Avery. And ohh did those grand kids and great grandkids make Grandpa/Great Grandpa Fred smile. The family will receive friends on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 4-7pm at the Muehlig Funeral Chapel, 403 S. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor. The Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Monday at 10:00 at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 530 Elizabeth St., Ann Arbor. With visiting from 9:00 until time of Mass. In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to Dawn Farm. Further Information about Fred is available at the Veteran's History Project: https://archive.org/details/Chase-Fred-VeteransHistoryProject