Eugene Harold Chase

MIDDLESEX - Eugene Harold Chase, 76, of Middlesex, VT, passed away peacefully, Monday, January 20, 2025, at Barre Gardens Nursing Home, Barre City, VT.
Eugene was born May 22, 1948 in Heaton Hospital, Montpelier, VT, to Nellie Martha (Cadman) and Albert Munroe Chase.
He was pre-deceased by his parents, and older brother Elroy Chase. The bachelor brothers lived together for 72 years, until Elroy's passing in 2020, at the age of 89.
Eugene grew up on 240 bucolic acres in Middlesex, VT, living an old-time life, much like his distant ancestors. The ole' saying 'they don't make them like that anymore' honestly applied to the life and times of Eugene Harold Chase.
Long hours and hard work were no strangers to Eugene growing up. The old homestead did not have plumbing. There was an outhouse. Daily chores varied depending on the time of year. Eugene was up with the rooster stoking fires, fetching water and eggs, shoveling snow, cutting blocks of ice from the pond, tending fields, caring for livestock, making farm tools and fences, clearing rocks from fields, and building and repairing simple structures with salvaged materials bartered from neighbors. Hunting deer, black bear, squirrel, rabbit, opossum, wild turkey, and fishing help put food on the table. Sugar maples were tapped each spring, and beehive boxes were placed around the fields. Apples from the orchard were pressed for cider each fall. A horse was hitched to a plough to loosen soils in the rocky fields for planting. The hay fields were cut with hand-held scythes.
Eugene was the salt of the earth, and a good son to his beloved mother Nellie. He'd reminisce about helping her bake bread, churn butter, and put-up hundreds of canned foods each year. He'd bring in buckets of water for the laundry and bath. He'd do anything to help make his mother's busy life on the farm easier.
Throughout his lifetime Eugene loved to draw and paint. His cheerful folk-art was an outlet for self-expression. His imaginative artwork was more than just a hobby; it was a part of his soul. Over the years, photographers and writers found their way to the Chase farm in Middlesex to document their old-time ways. The family felt like movie stars when they saw their photographs and stories appear in Vermont Life magazine, the Burlington Free Press, Middlesex Occasional Newspaper and Ethan Hubbard's portrait books of Vermonters.
With the lifelong companionship of his brother Elroy; inner strength when times were difficult; a humble spirit; caring friends; a twinkle in his blue eyes; and a constant supply of colored pencils for his artwork, Eugene lived his best life.
"So let us dream of days gone by, Where hearts were true, and spirits high, A simple life, a timeless art, The beauty held within the heart." -Author unknown
Gratitude to the staff of Barre Gardens Nursing Home, and to Four Season's Care Home in Northfield where Eugene and brother Elroy comfortably resided for many years.
Arrangements by Kingston Funeral Home in Northfield, VT. Eugene will rest in peace alongside his brother in the Chase family gravesite, North Branch Cemetery, Middlesex, VT. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Eugene, please visit our Tree Store.