Johnny Ray Chase

TYLER — Johnny Ray Chase, of Tyler, TX, passed away on September 27th, 2023, at the age of 83. Johnny was born to parents Orville and Marie Chase on December 25, 1939, in Wichita Falls, Texas. Johnny lived on the Northside of Wichita Falls and attended Huey Elementary School, Ragen Junior High, and Wichita Falls Senior High. He played football for the state-ranked Coyotes, coached by Joe Golden. Growing up, Johnny was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and was an Eagle Scout. He was the youngest boy to be inducted into the Order of the Arrow. Throughout his school years, Johnny threw newspapers for the Wichita Falls Times and Record News to everyone on the Northside. At Christmas time he would receive gifts from all his customers who valued his friendship.

After high school, Johnny attended Texas Tech for one year before joining the Marine Corp. After attending basic training in California, he enrolled in Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. The first week of the semester, Johnny was in the library and met a redhead named Carol Moncrief. Johnny was a member of Kappa Sigma and Carol was a member of Alpha Phi. They danced their way through four years of college and married on December 29, 1962. This year they will be celebrating 61 years together. Johnny’s first job was with the Boy Scouts of America and then he began his 25-year career in management with the JCPenney Company. Johnny and Carol moved to Tyler, Texas in 1975. After retiring from JCP, Johnny worked for TISD overseeing and managing transportation maintenance for all the buses and vehicles. Johnny was a member of Glenwood Church of Christ, Tyler Bass Club, and Kiwanis Club. He enjoyed coaching Little League baseball and being involved with tennis with his children, who played at Robert E. Lee High School and Tyler Jr. College. He loved solving Sudoku puzzles, coin collecting, playing card games and slot machines in Shreveport. He enjoyed bass fishing and dove hunting with his friends. He also loved his pets, a Chinese pug named Carl and a Calico cat named Apache.

Johnny is preceded in death by his parents, Orville Rex Chase and Lillian Marie Chase, sisters Andrea Pence and Gwen Shuler, and his grandson, Garrett Chase Thomas. He is survived by his wife, Carol Chase, son John Barry Chase, daughter Jennifer Thomas, son-in-law Jeff Thomas, granddaughters Kristen and Kami Thomas, sister-in-law Marianne Moncrief and many nieces and nephews.

The family appreciates all the medical care from Dr.’s Laura Ferguson, Nghia Truong, Hector Ceccoli, Noah Israel, Preston Harrison, David Nichols, Leonard Decarlo, David Carney, and Hospice of East Texas. He loved and appreciated his caregivers, Armando Flores, Margarita Prieto, Alma Rivera, and Nelly Rebollar.

Visitation will be held Thursday, October 5, 2023 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler. The family will have a private burial.