On February 29, 2024 at the age of 39, Lance Tyler Chase finally found peace at his home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  Lance was born on June 12, 1984 in Whitefish, Montana.  He lived in Elko, Nevada during his childhood and early adulthood, then in 2008 he moved to Wisconsin where he was a resident of Sheboygan.  For the last 13 years he resided in Manitowoc.

Lance is survived by his ex-wife and love of his life Sarah Chase and their 3 children, Marley 9, Gemma 12, and Violet 17; his father, Ron Chase, his sister, Elizabeth Davis, nephew Sullivan Davis 18, niece Violet Davis 16, niece Nora Mittnacht 12, niece Paige Mittnacht 12, and nephew Evan Campbell 15, as well as his grandmother, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

This obituary was written as a group, by all of Lance's immediate family, including all of the children.  As a family we feel that it is imperative that we acknowledge the cause of Lance's young and avoidable death, which was Alcohol Use Disorder.  The last years of Lance's life, and our lives as well, were absolutely ravaged by Lance's alcohol addiction.

Lance used to be the most gregarious, kind, loving, friendly, generous person anyone could ever know.  He was always the life of the party and he never met a stranger who did not eventually become a friend.  His warmth, humor, and outgoing nature drew people to him and no matter where he went, whether it be the grocery store, a concert, or vacation, he always came back home with more friends than when he left.  He was known for his kindness, always helping others in any way he could.  Lance was a true family man and he was most happy and content spending time with his family and pets, soaking up the sun in their backyard.  He loved to be outdoors and to go hiking in Schuette Park with his family, he always made sure to bring garbage bags to collect litter as they hiked.  Lance made his house the hangout spot for all of the neighborhood kids, he always had time to play catch, basketball, tag, or do chalk drawings with all of the children in his life.  Lance was the cool uncle and his nieces and nephews would spend the entire week in anticipation when they knew that they would get to have a sleepover at his house on the weekend.  In short our lives revolved around him, his light, and his incredible spirit.

Like many young adults Lance liked to drink alcohol with friends or in celebration.  He drank regularly but not as an overindulgence.  Then Lance experienced an extremely traumatic event, an event that would change the course of his life.  An event that would leave him with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and soul crushing grief. Lance did not know how to cope with his mental illness and grief in a healthy way and he turned to alcohol to self-medicate.

In the early years Lance's drinking was a coping mechanism, but not an addiction.  His family encouraged him toward healthy coping mechanisms and ways to acknowledge and heal his pain and depression.  Lance repeatedly rejected any suggestions for mental health help and denied he had any problems.  He always proclaimed how strong he was and made sure to keep up his happy, funny, easy going demeanor.  He was still able to be a wonderful husband, loving father, supremely cool uncle, amazing friend, and great employee all while drinking every day.  From the outside Lance appeared to have it all; a perfect life and living the American dream; but inside Lance was hurting and he was too proud and stubborn to get the help that his family became desperate for him to receive.

Early on Lance's drinking didn't seem like a very big problem.  But it would become obvious to those around him that he was using his drinking to self-medicate and his drinking was moving from an unhealthy coping mechanism into an addiction.  Lance's personality began to change, so slowly that we didn't even notice it in the beginning.  It started with small things like little lies and losing his temper easily.  As his alcohol abuse continued his physical health began to decline.  His relationships with his family and friends began to deteriorate.  It was at this stage that we, as a family, really began to beg him to seek help.  We presented him with so many options and avenues to receive help, but still we were told no.  Lance had so many people who loved him and strongly encouraged him to get help at this time, including the medical community, to no avail.  Lance's addiction snowballed during Covid until it completely took over his life.  It is the most tragic and helpless experience to watch a loved one succumb to their addiction.  Lance did try to get help a couple of times during this period, even completing 30 days in rehab, but his addiction was too strong.  The immense light that used to emanate from his soul, warming all those around him was extinguished and he became someone that no one, even himself, recognized.

Our hearts are broken; our lives forever changed.  We are acutely aware of all of the life events that Lance's addiction robbed us and him of.  Lance will never walk his daughters down the aisle, he will never see his son play another baseball game, he will not see his nephew conclude his chemotherapy treatment and graduate high school, he will not see his niece get her driver's license, he will not cheer his other nieces from the sidelines of their karate tournaments and he will never go to Massachuesetts to explore the sights with his nephew who lives there.  There will forever be "something" missing on our birthdays, holidays, and important events.

Lance is preceded in death by his younger brother Austin Graham 15, his cousin Connor 19, and his beloved grandpa Chase.

We want to be transparent about the effects of mental illness and addiction on Lance and on our family.  Lance's addiction does not define who he was, but it will be a defining characteristic of our family for the rest of our lives. There is a saying that suicide does not end a person's pain, it just spreads it to the loved ones left behind.  We feel that is what addiction has done to our family.  Lance used alcohol to self-medicate and cope with his pain and sadness and while Lance may be gone, the pain that he was trying so desperately to drink away remains left behind in his surviving family.  We hope and pray that maybe our openness and honesty can help 1 person or 1 family seek help before it's too late. Alcohol Use Disorder is insidious; it is not an addiction in the beginning, in the beginning it is a choice; a choice that a person who is hurting and trying to feel better makes over and over again, and then, before they realize it, they have become addicted.  We hope that this obituary and the stark and sad reality of Lance's young death will help someone get help with their drinking before addiction takes hold.  We would like to share resources that can help with mental illness and addiction.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) operates a free helpline to provide people with answers about common mental health conditions, including substance abuse disorders. The helpline can also help people navigate treatment options. Call 1-800-622-4357.  Additionally calling 211 can help you identify local services that are available to assist you or your loved one find help for mental illness or substance abuse.

There will be a celebration of Lances life at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17th at the Harrigan Parkside Funeral Home, 628 North Water Street, Manitowoc. The family will greet relatives and friends from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. Lance will be laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc, at a later date.

The Harrigan Parkside Funeral Home, Manitowoc, is assisting Lance's family with funeral arrangements. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family by visiting www.harriganparksidefuneralhome.com.

Lastly we would like to give a deeply heartfelt thank you to Max at Harrigan Parkside Funeral Home and Crematory in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  Max's genuine care and guidance have given us peace of mind that we never expected we could experience during the most difficult and painful time in our lives.  He has such a peaceful and calming nature and he is so patient and understanding.  This rollercoaster journey that Lance has taken us on for the last 15 years has created many complicated emotions that often swing like a pendulum from one extreme to the next, sometimes in a matter of seconds.  We are trying our hardest to do everything that we can for all of the children in our family to help them gain the closure that they deserve from this deeply traumatic experience and that means that there are many little unique things that get added to the burial and funeral plans.  Max has taken this all in stride and he has helped every single member of our family feel seen and heard, something we haven't felt in years.  Surprisingly the process of planning Lance's funeral has lifted a weight off of our shoulders and we have Max to thank for that.  We are eternally grateful.