Help us send off Charlie Chase how he deserves!

The Excelsior community is heartbroken to announce the passing of Charlie Chase.

Charlie Chase was the parent of Kaz (Tiana) 32, and Link Whitcomb's (11) adored grandfather. His partner, Christina Fitzgerald, survives him He was also the legal guardian of Marshell Mohamed, the son of his sister who passed away some time ago.

Charlie served in the United States Air Force and was a character in the music industry with Strawberries Records and Tapes after his medical discharge. Others may have met him much later as a detail-oriented house painter or working at the Gibb's gas station. He was an active member of the Mi'kmaq tribe and created stunning beadwork before his eyes went. Maynard locals have likely seen him with Link around town for trick or treat, helping at Excelsior with little construction tasks, playing games with some of the kids, telling 'war' stories about his childhood in Boston, or lending a hand to any number of our neighbors. No matter where we go, someone seems to have met Charlie.

Charlie never had an easy life. What he was rich in was never money, but love, humor, and resolve. Stubborn and weird is the way most describe him. He was absolutely //THAT// old hippie. Peace, love, and music. He valued community and individuality and was an outspoken advocate for embracing your weirdness and being unapologetically yourself. He wanted people to be kind to one another, stand up for what was right, and protect those who could not protect themselves. He took special care of the world around him, bonded to nature and all things living, believing that we are all connected through the earth, that the trees, the rocks, and the animals that lived within were just as much us as our flesh and blood. He gave everything he had to others and kept less than nothing for himself. Most importantly, he never wanted to be a burden to anyone.

After a long separation, he was able to reconnect with Kaz in 2005, was their cheerleader through high school and college, and was a fanatical supporter of Excelsior, seeing it as a place to provide for wayward youth, (a group he had a special connection to given his rough childhood). He did everything in his ability to help behind the scenes and wanted nothing in return. He just wanted things to be better for someone else than what he had access to.

In 2012 he became a grandparent to Link, which allowed him to reconnect in a way he was not able to with Kaz as they grew up. Charlie was always the 'fun' and 'goofy' grandparent, able to provide a healthy dose of good crazy. Link all but worshipped him, and took his lessons of being unapologetically you to heart. Charlie gave him his love of rainbows, tie-dye, and animals.

It has fallen on Kaz and Bobby, the owners of Excelsior, as Charlie's closest family, to make the funeral arrangements, a difficult and expensive process. Like many small business owners in Maynard, they sacrifice a lot to keep their costs affordable and their space available not just as a game and hobby store, but as a safe place for teens in Maynard and the surrounding areas, something Charlie always wanted to help. Mortgage and business expenses do not leave the family with a lot of extra money, so they have made the difficult decision to request help from Maynard and the surrounding community during this difficult time. Kaz, Bobby, and Link try their best to keep Maynard weird, and safe for those aforementioned wayward youth, and try to keep those parts of the mission strong, for us, and for Charlie. But, as we said, Charlie would give everything he had to others, was disabled (as much as he hated to admit it), and left nothing to cover arrangements. They are now humbly asking that the community help them lay Charlie to rest in a way that honors such a cool dude.

We will keep all abreast of costs, currently, before knowing what may be covered by programs Charlie was a part of, We are looking at about 8k for a cremation, funeral, and all related costs. We are also hoping we can get enough to have a few keepsake memorial necklaces made for his surviving loved ones to be able to continue bringing him along on their adventures. If we can't do that, we will do what we can, but the goal is to give him the send-off he deserves, and his family and friends one last get-together for him, as a community.

Thank you for being so kind during this difficult time.