Keith Peter CHASE

CHASE, VOGT, RUSSELL, NORRIS, ANDERSON, CHAMBERLAIN, CIRKSENA, LONG

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/9/2016 at 16:25:33

September 25, 1954 ---- May 5, 2016

Keith Chase, of Mora, formerly of Andover, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at his home. He was 61 years old. CELEBRATION OF LIFE will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the Akkerman Ingebrand Funeral Home in Mora. VISITATION will be held one hour prior to the service.

Keith Peter Chase of Mora, Minnesota, passed away unexpectedly on May 5th, 2016 at his home in Mora. He was 61 years old. Keith was born on September 25th, 1954 in the city of Kingston, Ulster County, New York to Harold and Olga (Vogt) Chase. He spent his childhood in the Catskill Mountains outside of Saugerties, New York, the third of three siblings. He graduated from Kingston high school in 1973 and served in the United States Navy from 1974 to 1978. While stationed at Newport Naval Hospital, Newport Rhode Island, he met his wife Rachelle “Shelly” Russell. They were married on March 26th, 1977 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in her hometown of Eagle Grove, Iowa.

Keith attended the State University of New York, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business/Economics and a Masters of Business Administration in 1982. Keith and Rachelle made their home outside of Rochester, New York where he began a consulting career with Patton Consulting. They were blessed with two beautiful children Erik and Emily. Keith began working for Tandem Computers in 1986 with a move to Santa Clara, California. In 1989, the family moved to Andover, Minnesota where they made their home for the next 20 years. Keith worked for Wells Fargo as an Auditor and Project Manager for a number of years and in 2007, he left the corporate world and went back to school, graduating with a Master’s degree in Drug and Alcohol counseling from Hazelton.

Keith spent the last part of his working career as a Drug and Alcohol counselor in South Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis and Mora, MN. He dedicated the last two decades of his life supporting the mission of Alcoholics Anonymous and helping others who were recovering from the disease of alcoholism. Keith would have celebrated 18 years of sobriety and recovery in September of this year. He loved sharing his journey with others and following the spiritual path of the twelve steps as his guide for living.

Keith enjoyed fishing, golfing and fast cars, but his greatest joy and his grandest accomplishment in life was always his family. He knew how blessed he was to have the love and support of his wife and family and he was so proud of his children, their spouses and his amazing grandchildren.

Keith had a joy for life and lived each day to the fullest. We will remember his beautiful smile, his wry sense of humor, the twinkle in his eye, and his warm and loving heart. His spirit is very much alive and present to all of us who had the privilege to know and love him.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his father-in-law Leo, his nieces; Elaine, Nikki and his brother-in-law Jon. Keith is survived by his wife Rachelle, children Erik (Katie) Chase, Emily (Timothy) Norris; grandchildren, Isabella Chase, Evan Anderson, Maximus Norris, Baby Norris; sisters Cindy (Allen) Chamberlain, Lolly Chase; mother-in-law, Louise Russell; in-laws; Jackie (Rick) Lockwood, Tony (Mary) Russell, Andy (Marilyn) Russell, Paulette Cirksena, MaryBeth Russell, Pat (Laurie) Russell, Paul Russell, Susie (Craig) Long; nieces Brianna, Amanda, Melanie, Alison, Angie, Suzanne, Sarah, Kailee, Alexis; nephews Adam, Ben, Mathew, Joshua, Kelly, Mark, Jason, Bryce, Nathan, Nick, Cody and so many other family and friends.

http://www.aifuneralhome.com/2016/05/06/keith-p-chase/