Mrs. Loretta Lorrie A. Adkins Chasey

If you were pressed to describe Lorrie Chasey in just one word, that word would likely be “caring.” Whether you were family, friend or someone new in her life, your happiness and well-being were important to her. Because of that, on any given day you would more often than not find her doing something kind and loving for those she cared about, and they all were always in her thoughts and prayers.

Lorrie was born Frances Loretta Adkins on August 3, 1928 in Prentiss, Kentucky to George and Eliza Adkins. By her own account she had a difficult childhood, and around the age of 15 she left home and struck out on her own, regretfully leaving her four younger siblings behind. As a young woman Lorrie held down many jobs, including waitressing at a five-and-ten lunch counter and fashion modeling for a department store. After moving to Detroit she went to work in an administrative capacity at the Ford Motor Company and, at the age of 19, got married for the first time. It was an unhappy marriage, and five years later she filed for divorce. However, a new day was about to dawn for Lorrie, because just three years later, while working as a cocktail waitress in Port Huron, Michigan, she met the man who was destined to be the great love of her life: Don Chasey. After a whirlwind courtship, Lorrie and Don eloped to Angola, Indiana and were married on May 8, 1954. The next day Don brought Lorrie back to meet his parents at their home in Port Huron. It happened to be Mother’s Day, and over the years Lorrie’s father-in-law Walker would often remark that she was the best present Don had ever given to his mother.

After setting up house in Port Huron it wasn’t too long before Lorrie and Don started their family. Their first child, a son whom they named Donald Walker II after his father (along with his dad’s nickname of “Skip” as well) was born in May of 1956. Thirteen months later, their second and last child—another son—was born and they named him William Arthur (“Bill”). Lorrie was a loving and devoted mother to both of her sons and they, in turn, loved and were devoted to her.

In 1960, in the hopes of providing a healthier climate for their son Skip (for whom the cold, wet winters and humid summers of Michigan were more than his delicate respiratory system could tolerate), and believing that greater opportunity lay ahead for them out West, Lorrie and Don pulled up stakes and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. While their first few years in Phoenix were challenging, eventually all of the hopes they had placed on this cross-country move were more than realized, and Phoenix remained Lorrie’s and Don’s hometown for the rest of their lives.

While Lorrie was primarily an exceptional homemaker, she did occasionally work outside of her home. These jobs included selling advertising for a local newspaper, being an “Avon Lady” and working as a concession stand server at the newly-built Arizona Memorial Coliseum. Her hobbies and recreational interests included dancing, needlepoint crafts, playing games (pinochle, canasta, hearts and dominoes being some of her favorites), collecting owl figurines and various church activities. Lorrie had a strong Christian faith that sustained her during times of sorrow and strife, and during her life she was a member of a handful of Baptist churches, both in Michigan and in Phoenix. But Lorrie didn’t just attend these churches; in typical fashion she also volunteered her services in various capacities, including Sunday school teacher, vacation Bible school teacher, choir leader, and nursery attendant. Lorrie was especially dedicated to looking after the widows in her church, acting as their unofficial “social director,” and both they and she were profoundly blessed by this personal ministry.

Lorrie and her husband were avid RV aficionados, and after Don retired in 1980 they would spend six months each year touring the U.S.—and occasionally Canada—in their classic Apollo motorhome. For more than 20 years Lorrie and Don would leave Phoenix in their coach (they owned three different Apollo RVs during the years that they traveled) and head north to Spruce Lake, Colorado where they would spend a couple of months in the coolness of the Colorado pines. After that they would hopscotch to points of interest throughout the country and visit their relatives and friends. Their family dog, a mini-toy poodle named Cheri, would travel with them, and it was a very sad day for Lorrie when, for humane reasons, their faithful companion of nearly 18 years had to be put down. As fate would have it, Don was out of town that day and so it was left to Lorrie to accept the veterinarian’s recommendation and be Cheri’s sole comforter as the injection was administered…an experience that would always cause Lorrie to tear up whenever she recounted it.

Lorrie first began showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease a year or two after the turn of the millennium, and soon her health declined to the point that she was no longer able to take such extended trips. Lorrie and Don set up a small, comfortable vacation home in Pinetop, Arizona at which they spent the next six summers. Even though she was no longer able to participate in many of the activities that had previously brought her so much pleasure, Lorrie still was able to enjoy the company of family and friends who would come to visit her and Don in Pinetop and at their primary residence in Phoenix as well. In 2004 their sons held a catered open house party at Lorrie and Don’s Phoenix home in honor of their golden wedding anniversary, and Lorrie greatly enjoyed being able to celebrate this milestone with the many family members and friends who traveled from far and wide to attend.

Sadly, Don was unexpectedly diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma in late 2005. The chemotherapy and other procedures he underwent to treat the cancer were debilitating and left him too weak to properly care for Lorrie. Their son Bill was of tremendous help to them during this time, stepping up to assist both Lorrie and Don with a host of daily tasks. However, as time went on the amount of help and care that they both needed was so extensive that Don, with the assistance of his eldest son, Skip, engaged the services of a brief series of in-home care providers. While the situation was far from ideal, it did provide Don with a brief respite until he was admitted into the hospital for what would be the final time. Days later, after having been transferred to a nursing home to convalesce until his primary physician returned from vacation, Don came to sobering realization that he would likely not beat the lymphoma. He once again turned to Skip for assistance, requesting that he find a suitable care residence for Lorrie. Fortunately, Skip had a good friend in Tucson who worked as the medical director for a highly-regarded Alzheimer’s care center, and that friend not only lent his expertise to Skip and Don in connection with their search for a quality memory care residence in the greater Phoenix area, he also pulled some strings so that Lorrie could be admitted into the recommended residence—The Court in East Mesa—relatively quickly.

Once he knew that Lorrie was being properly cared for, Don was finally able to call an end to his valiant cancer battle, and he accepted his doctor’s recommendation of hospice care. Don initially wanted to receive such care at home, but when he learned that there was an inpatient hospice right next door to Lorrie’s memory care residence, he elected to spend his final days there instead. As a result, Lorrie was able to visit Don each day of his brief stay, and when he died on August 23, 2006 she was able to say goodbye to her beloved husband of 52 years as well.

Three months later Lorrie was able to move closer to home and was transferred to Encore Senior Village at Peoria (Arizona). While her dementia continued to increase, Lorrie was nevertheless able to attend many of the events and participate in many of the social activities that took place at Encore, and she was able to enjoy the company of the family members and friends who visited her as well. Early in 2010, while in the late stages of the disease, Lorrie was diagnosed with breast cancer, and shortly thereafter she entered into hospice care on-site at Encore and, later, at Emeritus Memory Care Community in Peoria.

A self-described “tough old bird,” Lorrie was under hospice care for an astonishing 2-plus years, ultimately passing away peacefully in the early-morning hours of May 6, 2012 at Rock Creek Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Surprise, Arizona. She is survived by her sons, Donald W. Chasey II and William A. Chasey; her grandson, Justin Chasey and his wife Jennifer; her great-grandaughters, Ava, Allison and Aubrey Chasey; her sister and brother-in-law, Wanda and Kenneth Boyer; her brother, Charles Adkins; her brother-in-law, Larry Chasey and his wife Sigred; her brother-in-law, Albert Cadry; her sister-in-law, Sally Adkins; and many nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and nephews. Predeceasing her were her husband, Donald Chasey; her parents, George and Eliza Adkins; her in-laws, Walker and Evelyn Chasey; her sister, Elizabeth Cadry; and her brother, Richard Adkins.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on June 9, 2012 at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City, Arizona, after which Lorrie will be laid to rest next to her husband at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Fort Gratiot, Michigan. A catered reception will immediately follow the memorial service.