NEW ORLEANS — Beloved patriarch of the Chase Family, Edgar L. "Dooky" Chase III, passed away at the age of 74, the family foundation announced on Thursday.
During an afternoon press conference, the family said Chase III died from cardiac arrest on Wednesday.
Chase III is the son of legendary restaurateurs Edgar Chase Jr. and Leah Chase.
In a statement released by The Edgar “Dooky” Jr and Leah Chase Family Foundation said, “Dooky was a passionate New Orleanian that proudly served on numerous local, state, and regional boards focused on strengthening and improving our community and bringing people together.”
“In addition to being a CPA and attorney, Dooky was a lifelong educator and university administrator who educated and mentored thousands of students and young professionals. He was a principled man, who was joyfully dedicated to being of service to others. Dooky was filled with passion and faith which was exhibited in his daily life and in his interactions with others. He believed in the power of love for mankind and was guided by the ideals of liberty.”
"While we mourn his loss, we celebrate his remarkable life and cherish the life lessons he taught us. He will be remembered for his kindness, wisdom, commitment to our community and to all humanity, and unwavering love for his family. His presence will be greatly missed, but his spirit will forever live on in our hearts."
Chase, who graduated from Jesuit in 1967, entered the school in 1963. According to Nola.com, he was with the second group of African Americans to ever enter the school. He later became the first African American student body president at Loyola University.
During his professional life, Chase was a CPA and attorney. He retired from Dillard University in 2009 after serving as its Vice President for Master Facilities Planning and Management and as its long-standing Dean of Business but returned to higher education in 2010 to serve as Delgado Community College/ Goldman Sachs’ Lead Faculty in New Orleans.
He left Delgado to focus on his goal of becoming a historical fiction writer. He served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1973-1978.
In 1973, Dooky obtained a master’s degree in business administration from New York’s Columbia University and then returned to Loyola University to obtain his law degree in 1983.
He also served on the Boards of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, the City of New Orleans Municipal Employees Retirement System, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, the governance committee of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana, Inc., and since 2017 the Anti-Defamation League of South Central Region.
His past Board service includes the Bureau of Governmental Research, the Loyola University Board of Trustees, the City Park Improvement Association, Inc., the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, the Board of Trustees of Our Lady of Holy Cross College, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, the Millennium Port Authority of Louisiana, the State Board of Economic Development, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute.
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Watch the complete Chase Family press conference in the video player below:
