Sister Mary Charlene Chase, RSM, died May 13 in Hiawatha, Iowa, following a brief illness. She was 80.
Sr. Chase was born May 4, 1938, in Fairbank, Iowa, the daughter of Charles and Margaret (Youngblut) Chase. She attended St. John School in Waterloo and graduated from Sacred Heart School in Waterloo in 1957. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1957.
Sr. Chase received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in elementary education from Mount Mercy College (now University) in Cedar Rapids in 1962. Her primary ministry was middle school education. She served as a teacher or principal at several schools in the Archdiocese of Dubuque (Iowa). In the Diocese of Davenport, she taught at St. Joseph in DeWitt.
Upon retirement in 1998, Sr. Chase was commissioned to the ministry of prayer, but continued to serve as a volunteer in Cedar Rapids. She volunteered at Mercy Medical Center in the medical records department from 1998-2000, at Sacred Heart Convent, and as a companion to several sisters residing at Hallmar Care Center in Cedar Rapids until her death.
Her funeral Mass was celebrated May 16 at Sacred Heart Chapel in Cedar Rapids. Burial was at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Cedar Rapids.
Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy, 1125 Prairie Drive NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402.