Obituaries

from End of the Trail

Dr. Will H. Chase of Cordova, beloved pioneer physician, died in Seattle October 1 at the home of a daughter, He was 90 years old. He came to Alaska from New York in 1897 to practice medicine and prospect for gold. But from the time he performed his first appendectomy in Alaska in a tent on the old Valdez trail. the gold hunting was strictly secondary. Between prospecting ventures, he ministered to the needs of the sick and injured in Dawson and Fairbanks, and finally settled in Cordova in 1908 where he teamed with another doctor to open a hospital in an old abandoned cannery. In his 65 years of practice in the North, he brought more than 3,000 babies into the world.

An ardent outdoorsman and dedicated civic leader, he served 24 terms as mayor of Cordova, and was a member of the Territory's first Game Commission and its first Health Commission. He also served as president of the Pioneers of Alaska. He wrote a number of books which reflected his interest in Alaska's history. wilderness and wildlife. including "Sourdough Pot," "Trailblazers of Bygone Days" and "Man and Beast."

This obituary is printed here with special permission from the editor and is copyrighted as such.