Mildred Jane Chase

The visitation for Mildred will be at Seven Dolors Catholic Church, Fort Totten on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with a Rosary and Scripture Service at 7:00 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. also at Seven Dolors. Burial will be in the spring at St. Jerome’s Catholic Cemetery. The procession to Fort Totten will leave on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. from City Plaza, Devils Lake. The family welcomes everyone to share a meal following the funeral Mass on Thursday at the Norma Rainbow Retirement Home.

Mildred was born on December 24, 1939, in Fort Totten ND, the daughter of Alphonse and Mary Jane (Adams) McKay. My Indian name was given to me by my aunt Rosalia Sherman and will be passed on to my daughter Janifer Joy Jensen.

Mildred attended elementary school at Little Flower School at St. Michael ND. After the school closed, she enrolled at the Fort Totten Government School, graduating in 1959. Midge enjoyed her time at Little Flower, received a good education and grew in her Catholic faith. She met a lot of cousins for the first time and made new friends. Midge worked very closely with Sr. Laverne who taught her many things about cooking, baking, and preparing meals.

One of Midge’s first jobs was with Majestic Dry Cleaners in Devils Lake. Her brother Bill was also working in Devils Lake, so he took her to work each day and she never missed a day of work.

Midge attended Lake Region Junior College for a brief time, then graduated from Stewart’s School of Hair Styling in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Midge had an extensive career as a hair stylist, owner, and manager of several shops throughout the United States. Places of employment included Flair Beauty Shop in Red Field, South Dakota, Minot Air Base Beauty Shop, Adeline’s Beauty Shop in Devils Lake, manager of a beauty shop in Fort Yates, ND. Eventually Midge had her own Beauty Shop at the old Housing Office Building in Fort Totten. A move to Fort Thompson, South Dakota meant closing the shop, but she was hired to open a new shop at a large complex in Fort Thompson. In 1979, Midge returned to North Dakota and began working for Spirit Lake Nation for thirty-three years. She held a variety of positions with the tribe including Brunswick Corporation, Sioux Manufacturing, CHR (Community Health Representative), secretary at the Halfway House, Chemical Dependency Program, Family Circle TiPi, and retired in 2010 from the CCDP as a Family Support Coordinator. No matter what job Midge had, she put her heart and soul into it. She loved meeting new people, making new friends and doing whatever she could to help those in need.

Eventually Midge was able to be a stay-at-home mother to her three children. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were her pride and joy. She loved them unconditionally and told each of them how precious they were to her each and every day she saw them. Midge’s prayer life included prayers of thanksgiving for the many blessings in her life and asking her Lord to watch over her family, to guide them to always make the right choices, to love one another and to help each other when there is a need.

Midge’s life was one of hard work, always putting the needs of her family ahead of her career, moving from place to place as needed, and always trusting in her Lord to be with her in each and every step of her life.

Midge was a faithful member of Seven Dolors Catholic Church, St. Mary’s Society, participated in the Catholic Indian Congresses, the Tekakwitha Conference, was in attendance when Pope John Paul II was in Canada and Tucson AZ.

Midge is survived by many family members, and she treasured each one of them. Her children Scott (Tracy) Chase, Janifer Jensen, Jerri Jensen Sr.; foster daughter Tammy Blueshield; grandchildren Brandi Snider, Scottie Chase, Bradly Jensen, Jerri Jensen Jr. “JJ”; great grandchildren Louis, Dominic, Blake, Arianni “Ari” de la Paz; stepson Lionel (Debbie) Chase Sr. and children Lionel Jr., Sylvia, Antoinette “Toni” Chase; nephews Robert “Bob” McKay Sr., Terry McKay, Matthew “Sam” McKay, JD McKay and Gary McKay-Foote; nieces Euretta (Bob) McKay, Beverly (Kenneth) Greywater, Susan Jane Fox, Ila Rae McKay, Martha (JD) McKay, Lynda (Jerome) DeWolfe; other grandchildren Rachel (Yankton) Veron, Edie (Yankton) Veron, Eileen (Finley) GoodIron and her two children Alexander and Joely GoodIron; godchildren Beverly Greywater, Sheldon Jones, Alton Greywater, Audi Swift Bird, James Norris Lohnes, Carmita St. Pierre, John Wesley DeWolf, Frances McKay, Taeya Thomas, J’ceon Demarce, Maza Oldrock; adopted grandson Tyler Smith; many other dear family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Warren Chase, granddaughter Sara Rae Snider, foster son Ronald “Ronnie” Blueshield, grandparents Luke and Mary Louise McKay; her brothers Alfred “Simp” (Rosemary) McKay, William “Bill” (Hermenia) McKay, Gilbert “Jack” McKay, Aloysius “Fishy” (Rose Mary) McKay, Jerome DeWolf Sr.; sisters Katherine Rosal, Mary Louise (Willie) Fox Sr.; nephews William “Billy” Fox Jr., Jerome “Jerry” DeWolf Jr., Allen McKay, Adrian McKay, Carl McKay Sr., Merle McKay, Virgil McKay Sr.; niece Lois Veron; grandsons Scott “Lovie” McKay, Robert ‘Bobby” McKay Jr., Virgil “Voomie” McKay Jr, Jason Veron; godchild Carrie TwoHearts.

Honorary Bearers and Midge’s special friends: Mona Chaske, Wanda Thomas, Vanessa Thomas, Evie McDonald, Nola McDonald, Debbie Jensen, Cathy Wolfe, Denise Gage, Donna Grann, Carol Lysne, Mary Trottier, Lisa Greywater, Denise DeMontigny, Joni Foote, Brenda Joshua, Doris Longie, Eunice Davidson, Renita Delorme, Sharon Georgeson, Faye Jetty, Paulette Driver, Ella Jane Brown, Kim Cavanaugh, Celeste Herman, LeAnn Alberts, Cynthia BlackLance, Susie Rainbow, Lois Leben, Lois Chaske, Ardis Shaw, Edna Matheny, Cora Iceman, Janeen Littleghost, Marla Tollefson, Winona Fox, Catherine Howard, the McKay family, TwoHearts family, Irene Thompson family, Littlewind family and the McDonald family.

Active Pallbearers are Midge’s Grandsons Bradly Jensen, Scotti Chase, JJ Jensen, Brian McKay, Carl McKay Jr. and William McKay Lohnes.

Music will be provided by the Tony McDonald family, Kris White and Lake Region Singers.