Terry, my mother, my sister, our family, and friends will never be able to understand or accept losing our two favorite people, especially within 19 days of each other.
But, we can tell Norman’s jokes, if we can remember them and (even harder) tell them as well as he did. And, we can eat and enjoy every single morsel of food, especially if it involves peanut butter and/or chocolate.
The man even ate Iguana once. My parents were vacationing in Mexico and at dinner one night my father ordered the #7, not knowing what it was. He told me he had said to the waiter, “This meat is very good! What is it?” The waiter said, “Iguana.” My father said, “It tastes like chicken!” I’m not sure if he kept it down, but he was an adventuresome eater who truly savored food, as well as family, friends, and life.
And, we can honor Paul by dancing like no one’s looking, telling jokes, laughing, knowing not to take ourselves too seriously, being present and in the moment, learning and trying new things such as whittling, playing the banjo, and cutting down a dead tree with a chainsaw from inside a rowboat in the middle of a pond (well, perhaps that’s not such a great example! Mom, it never happened!)
Paul wasn’t afraid to live life. He and Terry hiked mountains, went caving, traveled the world, and enjoyed every single thing they did together; even splitting firewood with an ax for the wood-burning stove that warmed their home.
When Paul decided he wanted to learn how to ski, he went to the top of a mountain in Utah. He didn’t waste time on “bunny hills.” There are many more things I could say, but I will keep my promise that I’d never tell my mother about them.
We can also strive to quietly achieve at least one or two of Paul’s qualities of which there are too many to list, but very few people innately possess. He was kind, gentle, humble, non-judgmental, generous, funny, knew what the meaning of the word “fair” was, and diplomatically tried to make the world a more fair and better place. He was that rare person we were all lucky enough to know and will never forget.
Paul’s friends and colleagues in Indiana would like to hear from his friends, family, and classmates. Only you have the insight into what it was like growing up with Paul.
I was much younger than Paul, and much, much younger than Beth, so I don’t remember much, except that I thought he was really cool. And he had the best hair. And, he was the only person I’ve ever known who could ride a unicycle around the block while juggling.
Please read the message below and respond directly to Jesse Kharbanda
Share Your Reflections, and Learn More
If you would like us to add a tribute that you’ve written about Paul’s life or have any thoughts or questions about the Paul M. Chase Memorial Prize, please reach Jesse Kharbanda, Executive Director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, at jkharbanda@hecweb.org
Contributions to the Paul M. Chase Memorial Prize can be made at:
Thank you,
Terry Briner, and the rest of Paul’s family
Home » Paul Chase Prize
Paul Chase Prize
Paul Chase was a great advocate, lawyer, son, partner, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. In his more than thirty year career as a lawyer and advocate, Paul stood up for the chronically ill, the disabled, the elderly, and the financially struggling. He advanced the causes of affordable energy, climate change action, civil rights, consumer rights, health care access & affordability, and renewable power. Paul’s remarkable abilities, character, humor, and warmth were widely appreciated by the entire breath of the Indiana public interest community (as seen by the tributes below), including our organization. Paul, our treasured personal friend and professional colleague, was tragically taken from us, due to a car accident, on June 25, 2014.
In celebration of the life of a true champion of social justice, the Hoosier Environmental Council has established the Paul M. Chase Memorial Prize.
HEC aspires for the Memorial Prize to be not only an annual honor to a worthy young Hoosier who follows in Paul’s footsteps, but a fund for a modest annual scholarship. We are very thankful that this Memorial Prize has the blessing of Paul’s beloved partner, Terry, and that our announcement of this honor at Paul’s memorial service on July 2nd provided comfort to Paul’s family overall.
If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund, please go to our Donation page and write “Chase Memorial Prize” in the comments box of the Donation page. If you would like to give a general gift to HEC in memory of Paul, please write “in memory of Paul Chase” in the comments box. In either case, we will notify the Chase Family of your thoughtfulness and your generosity.
Learn More About Paul’s Life and His Great Impact
Our treasured friend
Fran Quigley, a law professor and long-time advocate for social justice, wrote a tribute in the Indianapolis Star, and Shelia Suess Kennedy, a prominent political commentator and law professor, wrote a piece about Paul here. John Cardwell and Nancy Griffin, champions for health care access and affordability, write of Paul in the Indianapolis Star. Mike Leppert, long engaged in the Indiana political scene, shares his thoughts about Paul. Many mini-tributes for Paul can be found at the Shalom Memorial Funeral Home page as well as in this Indianapolis Stararticle.
Share Your Reflections, and Learn More
Dear Leslie,
Your words were so beautiful – no one could say it better. You really honored Paul with this beautiful article. I forwarded it to HPHS administrators to see a true HPHS Distinguished Alum. By the way, don’t forget the time we were flying somewhere (yes, I was flying-in a plane!!!) and while eating a salad, I found a worm on a piece of lettuce. Dad was sitting behind me and I turned around and said “EWWWWWW look at this!!!!!”. Normie promptly took the lettuce to – what I thought- he was going to examine. About 20 seconds later and not having heard from him, I turned and asked him what he thought about the worm on the piece of lettuce. He replied….”What? I didn’t hear you.” I asked him” What did you do with that piece of lettuce”…..he said ” I ATE IT” !!!!!!
Well done Leslie. Your words were perfect. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
what wonderful men they both are and what a loving tribute to each of them with their own set of unique gifts. i cannot even imagine losing both of these special people so closely together and may you and your family find joy once again in the memories of them both.
beth
Beautifully said, Leslie.
What a beautifully written piece.
Leslie, I loved reading about your father and bother in your own words. I felt as though I had known both for many years, thanks for sharing. May their memory be a blessing.