Lewis Herbert Chase rescued Moses G. Adams from burning, Bakersfield, California, May 22, 1981. Following an accident with a train, Adams, 36, was unconscious in his pickup truck, pinned to his seat amidst flames. Chase, 50, railroad conductor, ran to the truck and three times entered it in unsuccessful attempts to free Adams. Despite increasing flames and intense heat, Chase entered the truck again, freed Adams, and pulled him from it. Adams was hospitalized for his burns; Chase sustained minor burns. Both men recovered.
57902-6592
Obituary
Lewis Herbert (Sonny) Chase
Lewis, Sonny to all his friends, was born April 10, 1931, but due to an error made by his delivery Dr., he had a legal birthdate of March 10, 1931. Sonny passed away on February 16, 2024, surrounded by family and friends. Sonny joined the US Navy in March of 1948 serving as a submarine rescue/recovery diver and travelled all over the world with the Navy. While serving in the Navy, Sonny was decorated for fighting a fire on a munitions ship. He was honorably discharged in March of 1952. While in the service he met the love of his life, Carmela Marotta (Millie). They were married on April 4, 1952, and remained devoted to each other until her death in September of 2001. Sonny started working for the Santa Fe Railroad in 1955 and retired in 1994 to take care of Millie through her illness with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). On May 22, 1981, while working for Santa Fe, Sonny received the Carnegie Medal for heroism in the face of danger for rescuing a driver from a burning vehicle. Sonny was also very active with the Kern County Fair serving on the sheep committee for many, many years. Sonny is proceeded in death by his wife Millie, his granddaughter Jennifer Veith, his father Herbert Chase, his mother Vee, and stepfather John Lanquist, and his brothers Fred and Jim. He is survived by his children; Steve and wife Patty Chase, Lynnette Chase, Michael and his wife Benita Chase, David and his wife Melissa Chase, and Kathy Bird; his many grandkids and great grandkids, who adored their grandpa and Papa Sonny, his brothers Richard, Robert, and a multitude of friends. To paraphrase one of Sonny’s best friends, Mario Buoni, in a comment to his sons, “If I were to make a man, you couldn’t find a better mold than Sonny Chase.”