CAPE VINCENT, NY —Â Martha Jeanne Chase, 83, of County Route 6, Cape Vincent, passed away, Monday, April 12, 2021, at Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, NY.
Born Sept. 6, 1937, in Paso Robles, California, a daughter of Erich Paul and Mary Monica McAndrew Schwandt, she was a high school graduate and studied at Cuesta Community College and UC Berkeley, CA.
Martha met her life partner Haldon M. Chase in 1958. He passed away in 2006.
She loved to sing, from historical songs to light operetta. She sang for several years with the Northern Choral Society of Watertown, NY. She read voraciously, and also loved reading stories to her grandchildren. Her first move in any new home was to sign up for a library card. She lit up the room with her sense of humor and could strike up a conversation with anyone. Her cooking was legendary and plentiful, no matter how many people showed up.
Survivors include her 9 children, 17 grandchildren, 8 nieces and nephews, and numerous people whose lives she touched, as a mentor, friend, and mother figure. Her brothers Erich and Jim, and her sisters MaryAnne Moss and Inga Himes, preceded her in death.
Services will be 11 a.m. May 6, at the Saint Vincent of Paul Catholic Church of Cape Vincent, NY, and at Mission San Miguel Arcangel, in San Miguel, California, at a later date.
Arrangements are with Frederick Bros. Funeral Home, Theresa, NY.
Donations may be made to www.doctorswithoutborders.org or to the Native American Heritage Association at www.naha-inc.org as well as the ACLU at https://action.aclu.org/give/now or on a local level to the Cape Vincent Food Pantry  (315) 654-2438 or the Paso Robles Food Pantry at Paso Cares (805) 712-4710.
To leave condolences go to www.frederickbrosfuneralhome.com and access the obituary. Click on the Tribute Wall located on the top left or you may share a memory at https://padlet.com/tesolchase/y54xipso0se5u3jt.