Nadine Chase's Obituary
Nadine Chase was born to C.E. Bone and Eva Avant Bone in Tampa, Florida. Her sister, Erline, was two years older. Both blossomed into beautiful and loving people. Their “kid” brother, C.E. Bone, Jr., known as “Buddy” in Plant City, was nine years younger. He was a classic example of a “red blooded American man”, the best uncle a kid could ever have. Nadine met and instantly fell for Fred L. Chase when they were in high school. As Fred went to college through the Naval Officer’s Candidate School program, Nadine headed to college at Stetson. After two years of college, Nadine returned to Plant City and married Fred in 1949. She faithfully kept the home fires burning for him during the “Korean Conflict”, while he served as a Lieutenant on a heavy cruiser in Korean and Japanese waters. Nadine and Fred became proud parents of their only child, Thomas C. Chase, on February 19, 1954. Fred engineered two short furloughs from his Naval Duties: One in May of 1953, when he and Nadine spent a few blissful days in California and another, nine months later, as Nadine was nearing her due date. He was able to get home just long enough to be present for the birth of “Tommy”, before returning to finish his duties in the war. Nadine and Fred doted on their son, taking him to many Florida Gator football games in the hope he would fall in love with the school. It worked. More than the education, she was blessed that Tom met his wife, Donna, at Gainesville. Donna became the wife and daughter in law of every parent’s dreams. When young Tom became an attorney in 1980, friends worried that Nadine would simply dissolve into delight. She promptly informed every new acquaintance that her son, Tommy, was an “attorney”! Though Tom was occasionally embarrassed at the fuss she made, he could not deny her that pleasure. “Nadie” as her dear friends often called her, loved entertaining, story-telling and floating on a truck tube, anchored over a sandbar on Indian Rocks Beach. There, tanned and radiant, she was in her glory. Nadine’s next high point was the birth of her grandsons, David and Bryant Chase. She delighted at their every breath and word, imparting her love of people and passion for life. In 2007, Fred and Nadine moved from their beloved Plant City to be closer to Tom, Donna and the boys in Fort Myers, Florida. At Barkley Place, they quickly made a host of dear friends, becoming a part of the fabric of that lovely community. When she lost Fred in 2012, her old friends in Plant City and her new ones at Barkley were instrumental in helping her find the will to go on. Nadine suddenly took ill in late May of this year. After a brief spell at the beautiful Hope Hospice facility in North Fort Myers, she passed away, in her sleep. Gosh we will miss her. Nadine was predeceased by her Mother and Father, her sister and Fred. For those wishing to contribute to a cause dear to my beloved Mother, in lieu of flowers, please make a contribution in her memory to Hope Hospice of Lee County.Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 1589 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33907, 239-936-0555. Online condolences may be offered at: www.fortmyersmemorial.com.
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