Jim Chase, age 76, passed away on August 17, 2026, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
He was born to Vernon Francis Chase and Edna Martha Lutz on May 20, 1950, in Sioux Falls, SD. He lived on farms with his parents and siblings in Salem, Spencer, and Hillsview, all in South Dakota.
In 1969, he was drafted into the US Army, trained as a medic, and ordered to an Army hospital in Tokyo, Japan. They did not need more Medics at that time, so he was reassigned to clerk duties in the distribution center, passing messages to various wards and departments and the daily teletype evacuation lists of patients.
While he was stationed in Japan, he was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The spirit of truth he felt in the meetings and the eternal gospel principles were the reasons Jim joined the church in 1971.
After being honorably discharged from the Army in fall 1971, Jim returned home to Eureka, South Dakota, before moving to Logan, UT, to study at Utah State University and to be with the Saints.
In the summer of 1972, he married Debbie Taylor and began working at Moore Business Forms to support his growing family. In the following years, they had four children, Sue, Jake, Jenny, and Nick.
Jim always had a love of flying and obtained instrument and multi-engine ratings for commercial planes, as well as instrument and instructor ratings in all three licenses. He applied to airlines but never heard back. He did teach flying and participated in Civil Air Patrol. Jim was invited to run aviation at the University of North Dakota. However, because the offer was less than he made at Moore, he declined the opportunity.
Debbie left Jim, and they officially divorced in May of 1993. Jim was disappointed and participated in counseling, determined to do better. He did learn a great deal during this time and made many changes.
He took up the hobby of dancing at Retrix and met Adele Ford there Thanksgiving weekend of 1993.
March 4, 1994 Jim and Adele were married. Together they built a home in North Logan, Utah.
Adele’s mother was so impressed with their work, she asked, and Jim and Adele consented to build her a house in Richmond, Utah. It was a fun and rewarding project.
Jim continued to work at Moore. He never stopped learning. He earned certificates in Refrigeration, heating, cooling, electronics, and computer programming. He also sang in the ward choir led by Adele, and acted as a father in the party scene of the community production of the Nutcracker in Preston, Idaho with Adele and other extended family members. He served in church callings, and volunteered for Civil Air Patrol.
When Jim was downsized at Moore, Adele encouraged him to return to Utah State University where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Business with minor degrees in Accounting and Human Resources which he completed in 2 years.
Jim went on to complete a Master of Business degree with an emphasis in entrepreneurship in one year instead of the normal 2 years while simultaneously working as High Priest Group Leader in the North Logan Ward for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He once said if he didn’t have to work a job, he would just serve others.
Upon graduation in 2005, Jim and Adele moved to California because Jim accepted a position as an office manager at Chase Homes in the California Bay area. Adele sold insurance and subbed in the schools while Jim worked organizing the office, generating accounting and cash flow reports, paying vendors and writing up bids. He was laid off when the company changed direction.
Jim was next hired as a project manager at CONCO Companies, the largest concrete company up and down the West Coast. He set up a fleet maintenance and software programs for the whole company which tracked parts inventory, maintenance schedules, and cost data for some 130 pickups, over 90 cement pumper trucks, numerous backhoes, dump trucks, semis and forklifts. This system would dump all the cost data into their accounting software program.
Once that project was done, he became a detailing engineer reading drawings and ordering rebar for various commercial projects.
Because Jim was laid off from CONCO at the end of the downturn in 2008-2009 and work was hard to find, Jim and Adele moved back to Utah. Jim got his Insurance License and began selling annuities to school teachers. The work came very slowly and after two and half years, he looked for other work. He found seasonal work at Walmart. He finally retired and took social security.
Retirement turned out to be busy. It started with Jim and Adele building a house in Elk Ridge. Adele started teaching dance and music from home.
Never one to sit idle and always wanting to be useful, Jim went across the street to attend the city council meetings. People noticed his integrity, his logical mind, his attention to detail, his level head, and encouraged him to run for city council and/or Mayor.
Jim refused, not desiring the spotlight. He did volunteer work on the City Planning and Zoning Commission and was later appointed Chairman of the Planning and Zoning commission for Elk Ridge.
Jim and Adele served as temple workers for the Payson, Utah temple from 2015. When one of the city council members quit, Jim was appointed to the Elk Ridge City council.
When that term was up he ran for re-election and won city councilman and also served as Elk Ridge City Treasurer, helped Elk Ridge institute and run the CERT Program, a community emergency response training program.
Jim joined the Civil Air Patrol in Utah County and served as Safety officer.
In 2022, Jim’s son, Nick, died of Leukemia. He was 44 years old. Because Nick had appointed Jim as his executor, Jim served as an advisor on the board of the company Nick had managed for several years before his death.
After Jim joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he served faithfully in many callings, sometimes as a leader; (ie,. Sunday School President, Second Councilor in the Stake Sunday School Presidency, Elder’s Quorum and High Priest Group Leader, member of the Bishopric), and sometimes as a teacher in; (Primary, Elders Quorum, High Priest Group.) Sometimes he served as an assistant because of his excellent record keeping skills; (ie High Priest secretary, Sunday school Secretary, church financial auditor, Temple Worker, etc).
Jim is preceded in death by his son, Nicholas, his Parents; Edna, and Vernon Chase, his brother, Loren (Monica) Chase.
He is survived by his wife Adele; her children Jason and Keenen (Nidia), his sisters; Marlys (Dave) Thompson, Arlene Chase, Darlene (Don) Schumacher, his children; Susanne(Nolan Turner), Jacob Morris Chase, and Jennifer, his grandchildren; Chandler(Julya B), Sterling, AJ, Madeline, Anfaney, Kayden(Nicole), Chevonna, Ethan, Abbigail, and one great grandchild, Clara.
He has many friends, loves his kids, grand kids, great grand kids and his Adele.
A Viewing will be held on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 from 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints located at 450 North Elk Ridge Dr., Elk Ridge, Utah. A Celebration of Life will immediately follow, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the same location. Interment will be at Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park located at 17111 South, Camp Williams Rd, Bluffdale, Utah.
