Sharon Chase

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.” 

While we grieve the passing of Sharon Katherine Chase, we take solace in the fond memories left behind. 

Sharon, born on June 27, 1948 in Lansing to beaming parents Don and Margaret (Peg), died peacefully on July 16, 2025. A DeWitt Township resident for more than 50 years, Sharon had recently moved into a senior living apartment in Dearborn. 

My sister was a strong, beautiful woman of Catholic faith and Irish descent. She was raised by loving, caring parents and surrounded by a fun-loving, supportive extended family, not just in the Lansing area but in Escanaba - all enriched her upbringing. 

In her teens, while attending O’Rafferty High School, she worked at Arbaugh’s, a department store in downtown Lansing. As a fashionable young woman, she fit right in the women’s clothing and accessories department where her eye for design was put to good use. A trait no doubt that she acquired from her mother. After graduating from high school, Sharon worked for her aunt, Jeanette Brogan, for 25 years at Poverello Credit Union.

 In the mid-1970s, our father built a sprawling brick ranch house in the country in DeWitt Township to better serve our mother, who had multiple sclerosis. But he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1978. Sharon selflessly dedicated the next 19 years of her life as a caregiver to our mother.

That life changing event may have discouraged some, but not Sharon. She was determined that she and Peg would have the best life they could live. They made the most of a dire situation. Every summer Sharon would pack their bags and off they would go to her brother and sister-in-law’s home in northern Michigan. Those visits spanned more than 40 years for Sharon and were always the highlight of her and Peg’s summer. It was their home away from home and they were always accompanied by cousins, who shared in the fun. Those visits were jam-packed with activities. The Cherry Festival was usually at the top of the list - parades, concerts, fireworks and watching the Blue Angels soar high above West Grand Traverse Bay. Sharon and her fellow travelers enjoyed every day and their adventures were endless - taking in spectacular views and sunsets high atop the Lake Michigan Overlook at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; wiping a tear from the corner of the eye as the Irish Tenors sang “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” at Interlochen Arts Academy; joining in the frenzy of the Traverse City Film Festival, dashing from one movie to the next; camping at Petoskey State Park and waking in the morning feeling wonderfully refreshed; soaking in the serenity and spirituality of the Cross in the Woods at Indian River; relaxing on a sandy beach, listening to the meditative, calming sounds of Lake Michigan’s ebb and f low; exploring historic Fishtown in Leland; searching for treasures from the best local artists; browsing through northern Michigan shops, looking for the perfect shirt with Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Leland or Suttons Bay emblazoned across the front (a conversation starter, she said, when she was out and about back home in DeWitt); and chit-chatting the evening away on the patio, sipping her favorite local wine - Chateau Grand Traverse’s Late Harvest Riesling. When it was time to pack up and go back home the crew was already making plans for their next visit. 

Sharon loved following Michigan State football and basketball. She, along with her cousin Ray and his wife JoAnn, were football season ticket holders for a few years, making those game days even more fun. Sharon did not have cable TV or internet, an absolute necessity for many. So unless games were nationally televised, she would listen to them on the radio, making that the focal point of her day, from all the pregame chatter to all the post-game analysis. If a game was close, and tension high, she would get up and pace the floor, hoping that might relieve some anxiety. When Michigan State edged No. 1 seed Duke in a thrilling NCAA regional basketball final in 2019, she stopped pacing at the buzzer so she could call me and yell into the phone, “We’re going to the Final Four. We’re going to the Final Four.”

Sharon’s creativity and sense of design came into play again later in life. She enjoyed making beautiful, hand-crafted cards that brought joy to friends and relatives, who were celebrating birthdays, holidays, weddings or births.

After our mother passed, Sharon went back to work, first at a credit union, then at East Lansing Public Schools. She later volunteered at a local elementary school, which gave her great satisfaction.

Sharon was a fighter, an attribute that was put to the test in the fall of 2021 when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had a will to live and always maintained that she was going to “make it.” Those were her words. Surviving became her mission, even in those trying times when her body had trouble tolerating the treatment. Yet, she kept soldiering on, and was not about to give up. There’s a saying in sports, “We didn’t lose, we just ran out of time.” That could sum up Sharon’s battle. She was still willing to f ight the fight, but her body ran out of time and just gave out. Nine days before she passed, she texted me. “We’ve had a good life, haven’t we?” 

Out of heartbreak and adversity, Sharon indeed crafted a beautiful, fulfilling life for herself and our mother. And in the process weaved intricate connections with family and friends that will be cherished for generations. Her presence will be profoundly missed, yet her spirit will live on in the hearts of her family and friends. 

Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Margaret (Peg) Chase. She is survived by her brother Dennis and sister-in-law Kathy Chase of Traverse City.

Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Sharon to Herbert-Herman Cancer Center Medical Oncology.