Obituary of Nancy Chase Rogers

Nancy Chase Rogers was a life force throughout her 92 years. True to form, she beat COVID-19 in February, and then passed away on May 18th, on her own terms, peacefully, in her beautiful apartment at Saybrook at Haddam filled with pictures of her family and pets. Nancy Chase was born on September 24, 1928 in Kenilworth, Illinois. She attended New Trier High School and is the last of six lifelong friends who all continued to get together each year for adventures well into their 80’s. As a child Nancy spent summers in Canada on an island where she discovered a love for fishing that she passed on to her daughter and grandchildren. After graduating from Northwestern University, she went to New York City. She lived at the Barbizon Hotel, worked briefly as a model, and then was hired into Macy’s executive training squad. All new training squad hires were required to dress in animal costumes for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, where, in a monkey costume, she met Richard Rogers, another new hire, who became the love of her life. For the next 66 years Dick and Nancy created a life filled with joy. Nancy was a bathing suit model for several years in New York and then turned to the task of raising their daughter, Chase Rogers, in an idyllic setting in Connecticut that included dogs, cats, pet raccoons and horses. When Chase went to college, Nancy decided to go back to work. She began working in the personnel industry and eventually owned a highly successful personnel agency in Stamford, Connecticut, which she ran until she and Dick retired to Southern Pines, North Carolina in 1995. Nancy spent the next twenty years fishing, riding horses and enjoying life with her many friends. Nancy loved people but none more than her daughter and son-in-law Ted O’Hanlan, and her grandchildren Sean and Ned. There’s nothing like learning proper body surfing technique from your 70+ year old grandmother in summers at Litchfield Beach. Nancy and Dick moved to Old Lyme in 2014 to be nearer to Chase and Ted. Nancy leaves a legacy of living life to the fullest with no fear and a smile. She left her imprint on this world and will be sorely missed by all who knew her. Memorial contributions may be made in Nancy’s name to Saybrook at Haddam, 1556 Saybrook Road, Haddam, CT 06438. To share a memory of Nancy or leave a condolence for her family please visit www.rwwfh.com . Arrangements are in the care of the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.