Richard H. Chasen, Esq., passed away at home after a long illness on June 13, 2017. Richard was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on February 21, 1941 to Irving and Rita Chasen. In Worcester, he began lifelong friendships with Larry Sheftel and Arthur Wolpert and attended Classical High School ('58). He earned a BS from the University of Massachusetts ('62) where he roomed for four years with Alan Fegarsky, with whom he remained close for 55 years.
He joined the US Army in 1962 and attended the Army Intelligence School at Fort Meade, Maryland. He subsequently studied German at the Defense Language School in Monterey where he met his friend and "brother," Vaso Medigovich. They were both stationed in Germany, and Richard then served a year in Viet Nam.
After leaving the service, Richard earned an MBA from Long Beach State University where he met another lasting friend, Jim Stevens. He subsequently received a JD from Hastings College of Law at the University of California and an LLM in Tax Law from NYU.
The proverbial California beach story, Richard met polka-dot bikini clad Melody King Chasen, of North Hollywood, on Seal Beach in the summer of 1967. They were married in 1970 and lived the next 47 years in San Francisco, California with sojourns in NYC and La Jolla, California. Richard and Melody travelled the world, including China, Egypt, Europe, Cambodia, Burma, and returned to Viet Nam in 1994.
An avid 49ers fan and 40 year season ticket holder, Richard and his "brother" Vaso went to all the 49ers' Super Bowls. He was also a life-long runner competing endlessly with his beloved brother Alan Chasen. Rich was a fearless skier, and SF bay sailboat racer. He was forever after called "Boomer" by his buddy Martin Falarski when he was hit in the head with the sail boom. In his later years, he became a devoted fly fisherman, spending much of his time learning the "art" at the cabin in Wyoming he and Melody shared with dear friends Ed and Lianna DeBee.
Richard practiced law at the California Dept. of Real Estate and with the County of Fresno for his law school classmate, Philip Cronin. He was associated, through his friend Joe Tabacco, with the national firm of Berman Devalario Pease & Tabacco. Always a devoted art patron, he spent several years as COO of Hanson Galleries.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Judith and Ruth, his brother Alan, and his spiritual brother Vaso. He is survived and will be missed by Melody, his devoted wife of 47 years, his nephews Charlie Chasen and Zac Whinnem, his nieces Brooke Whinnem Hunt and Leah Chasen Cudd as well as his goddaughters, Lindsay Humphrey, Christina "Charley" Medigovich, Tasha Medigovich, Nicole Cronin Tittman, and his large extended family.
Funeral services will be held at the Riverside National Cemetery on June 27 at 1:45. Reception will follow at the Mission Inn in Riverside. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested in Richard's honor to the Ray Dolby Brain Health Center, CPMC Foundation, 2015 Steiner St., San Francisco, CA 94115.