Mary Ann Chase, 82, passed away on August 19, 2025 in the loving care of the Royal Oaks Assisted Living staff and Hospice. Mary Ann was known as “Grammie” to her grandchildren, Mom to her children, and “Sugar” to her husband, Jon.
She was born in Trent, TX and graduated from Midland High School, Class of 1961. She married Jon on December 20, 1967 where they immediately began their life together in the US Army at Ft. Jackson, SC. Mary Ann had told friends and family over the years that, in spite of the hardships, these were some of the best years of her life. After the Army, they worked and resided in many states before settling in Midland to raise their children. One of Mary Ann’s greatest joys was being a stay-at-home mom and volunteering in her sons’ classrooms when they were young. As they became involved in sports, she was their biggest fan; she made voluminous scrapbooks of their successes in athletics. Along this circuitous route, she enjoyed putting her many skill sets to work as a secretary, a medical secretary, office manager, bookkeeper, receptionist, and finally, a payroll and Human Resources specialist during her 10 years at Connecticut Natural Gas. She was well-loved and appreciated in all of those endeavors.
In CT, Mary Ann was trained by a Master Cake Decorator who taught her to make and decorate wedding and special occasion cakes. When she and Jon retired and moved to Brady, she continued to make her beautiful and delicious cakes. Often referred to as the “Cake Lady” in the Brady community, she was a people person all her life and was loved by all who knew her well.
Over the years, she was an active member of the Brady Presbyterian Church and treasured the friends she made there. She was also a member of the Garden Club, the Red Hat Ladies, and volunteered with PAWS and the Haven. She was an excellent seamstress and an even better dancer as Jon can attest as he happily watched her dance with much more accomplished partners than him.
Mary Ann was an avid traveler, exploring the northeast while in CT, as well as Panama, Missouri, and many other parts of the US with her husband, children and grandchildren. But most of all, she was a wonderful wife, mom, and grandma.
Enormous appreciation goes out from Mary Ann’s family for the wonderful love and care she received at Royal Oaks. Toward the end, Hospice gave Mary Ann much love and eased her suffering. In so doing, both Tara and her staff at Royal Oaks and Nikki and her Hospice colleagues brought peace of mind to our entire family. For that we are eternally grateful.
Mary Ann is survived by her loving husband of over 57 years, Jonathan (Jon) Balloch Chase, III of Brady; sons Jonathan (Jack) Balloch Chase, IV and his wife Abigail of Columbia, MO, and Allen Strang Chase of Austin, TX; daughter, Caroline Cansler Chase and partner Jimmi Montgomery of Austin, TX; sister Jonelle Lancaster of Austin, TX; brother Corky Allen of Austin, TX; grandchildren Natalie Marie Chase, Augustus Arauz Chase, and Sophia Abigail Chase; several nieces and nephews and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents George and Jessie Allen, brother Clyde Allen, and sister Linda Allen.
A Celebration of Life service for Mary Ann Chase will be held at 2:00 pm, Saturday, October 11, 2025 at Leatherwood Memorial Chapel, 1001 South Elm Street in Brady with Reverend Regina Maas officiating. Friends may view the Memorial Video Tribute and / or sign the memorial guest book at www.leatherwoodmemorialchapels.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Mary Ann Chase may be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or online at www.stjude.org and / or The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at www.aspca.org.