Memorial Service for Rev. Dave Chase

It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the death of Rowell Kingsbury Chase (AKA Dave Chase) on September 25, 2024, at the age of 87 years. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Koster Chase; his son, Andrew Chase, and wife, Lee; his daughter, Dawn Chase; his grandchildren, Mia and Peter Chase; and his sister, Alison Chase, and husband, Joseph Hill.

Rowell Kingsbury Chase (Dave) was born on January 14, during the 1937 infamous and disastrous flood of Cincinnati, Ohio, to parents, William Rowell and Katharine Kingsbury Chase. The hospital had no running water, so baby Dave was bathed in oil while his father was out in his fishing boat delivering water to those in need.

Despite this adventurous start, Dave grew up to be an avid outdoorsman, athlete, and lover of music, especially if it had a good, rhythmic swing. In high school he played percussion, was on the swim team, and discovered the great joy of being a drum major. His drum major career continued at Harvard University, where he graduated Cum Laude with a pre-architecture major in 1959. Subsequently, he studied for two years at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Harvard is where he discovered another passion – lightweight crew. His team was exceptional, going to the Henley Regatta in England and winning the 1958 Thames cup. After graduating from Harvard, he coached their championship teams for two years. Looking back at this, he said that rowing on a top-notch team felt like flying. He loved it!

In 1965, Dave met and married Barbara Koster at Boston’s Park Street church and later moved to the suburbs. A self-described “inveterate creative tinkerer,” Dave worked as a mechanical engineer and, among other projects, was part of a team that designed a heart pacemaker. Throughout his life, in multitudes of situations he would use this “tinkerer talent” to come up with solutions to a wide variety of unusual problems.

Feeling he hadn’t yet found his true niche in life, Dave felt called in another direction. In 1976, after graduating from Gordon Conwell Seminary, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister and served as an assistant minister in Cambridge, MA. Truly connecting with the congregation and sharing his passion for God was his focus, and he often used an “outside the box” means to achieve it. In fact, his most fondly remembered sermon was preached entirely with a cardboard box on his head. He brought a sense of fun, joy, and play into most of what he did. Toys, gadgets, silly sound makers – all brought a big grin to his face, and he loved sharing them with those who had his “forever a kid” heart.

An avid cyclist for decades, Dave often invited his kids to join him in his adventures. Andrew went on multi day rides with him in Utah and Maine, and Dawn rode with him on the East Coast Greenway and on many of New York City’s 5-borough bike tours. He loved hilly terrains; whenever he met a winding, long hill, he would exclaim, “Oh, I want to bike on that!”

Another love was his Model-A, the very first car that he had owned. His daughter Dawn would often join him on the many club tours that he designed and led. For these, he would spend weeks researching the most interesting back roads and best ice cream spots for his fellow Model-A enthusiasts.

To quote Dave, “For spiritual fulfillment, I’m involved in church; for adventure, I drive my 1930 Model-A; for music, I play mandolin with the Bristol Old Tyme Fiddlers Club; for exercise, I gather and split firewood; for a challenge, I fix and make things; for expanding my horizons, I go on discovery trips.”

His was a life well lived, and his absence is felt by the many that loved him.