Earl Thornton Chase

Earl Chase, age 96 of Lincoln, AL passed away Monday, April 10, 2017. He was born on August 6, 1920 in Trenton, Ontario, Canada, attended Dufferin and The Trenton High School where he was the Eastern Canada pole vault champion. He then attended Trenton Collegiate Institute. One of his first jobs was as a brakeman for the Canadian Railroad following in his father’s footsteps. It was while working at the cotton mill that he met Jeanne Begbie and they were married in September 1939. In 1941 Earl joined the Grenadier Guard. With the Normandy Invasion, he landed in France and served in the tank corps in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. He was a wireless gunner and then was at the headquarters of Field Marshall Montgomery. After the war, Earl moved to Florida serving in the Florida National Guard for four years. He first worked at Ocean Motors and later became an agent for the Southern Life and Health Insurance Company in 1948. In 1953, Earl became the Manager of Lake Charles, LA office and 1955 he became the Manager of the New Orleans office. A further promotion was as the Manager of the Western Division in 1957 and in 1965 he advanced to the Birmingham office as Superintendent of Agencies. In 1970 he was promoted to Field Vice President and retired from that position in 1985. After retiring, Earl moved to Lincoln, AL and served on the Lincoln Planning Commission for 10 years and was the Chairman for the last nine of those years. Earl established the Carl H. Grisham and Laura Estella Grisham Scholarship Foundation as his late sister requested. In the 10 years from 2006 to 2016, the foundation awarded Broward County High School Seniors $1,280,000.00 in college scholarships. His wife, Jeanne preceded him in death in 2002. Survivors include his daughter, Judy Chase; and his son, Terry Chase and his wife Jean. His graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 13, 2017 at Elmwood Cemetery. Arrangements under the direction of Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel, Birmingham, AL.