Transition

Friend, Colleague,
Brother . . .
Dr. Tim Chase was Monticello through and through . . .
born and raised in Monticello, a graduate of Monticello
High School and UAM, a Billie and Boll Weevil for life.
DDR. CHASE LOST A BATTLE WITH
cancer on April 15, just weeks before
he was to become the 54th recipient of
UAM’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
He leaves behind a wife, two daughters,
and a legion of friends and admirers.
“I’ve known Tim since we started kindergarten
together in 1968,” said Mark
Tiner, who like Dr. Chase, graduated from
UAM in 1985. Now senior vice president
at Union Bank in Monticello, Tiner and
Dr. Chase were lifelong friends. “This is a
terrible blow to me personally, but more
so to his family and the city of Monticello.
Tim played such an important role in this
community and he will be sorely missed.”
Dr. Chase was chosen to be this year’s
Distinguished Alumnus shortly after an
initial meeting with UAM Chancellor
Karla Hughes in January. “Tim came to
see me about UAM hosting this year’s
Arkansas Mission of Mercy,” said Hughes,
“but he began by telling me his story, how
he fulfilled a lifelong dream by coming to
UAM and receiving a degree, and how
this institution prepared him to succeed
in dental school. It was such a wonderful,
uplifting story that I was mesmerized.”
As a UAM student, Dr. Chase was a
member of Alpha Chi honor society, the
Medical Science Club, Student Government
Association, Who’s Who Among
American Colleges and Universities, a Red
Cross water safety instructor, and in 1985,
an honor graduate.
He graduated with honors from the
University of Tennessee College of Dentistry
in Memphis in 1989 with a doctor of
dental surgery degree, spent one year as a
general practice resident at the University
of Kentucky’s Chandler Medical Center,
then returned to Monticello to open a
private dental practice.
He held a number of offices with
the Arkansas State Dental Association,
serving as the organization’s president in
2009-10. He was a charter member of the
board of directors of the Arkansas Mission
of Mercy, which provides free dental care
to the poor. He also served on the board of
the Arkansas State Dental Examiners and
was president of the Southeast District
Dental Society.
Always active in community affairs, Dr.
Chase served 12 years as an alderman on
the Monticello City Council and served
as the city’s interim mayor after the death
of his father-in-law, Allen Maxwell. Dr.
Chase was also a past-president of the
Monticello Rotary Club and was active in
the Monticello School Foundation, Chamber
of Commerce, First Baptist Church,
and a coach of both Little League baseball
and softball.
“I think most of us who grew up with
Tim knew he’d be a leader,” said Blair
Brown, director of athletics at Monticello
High School and a UAM classmate. “Tim
was that guy who kept us all pointed in the
right direction. When we were about to
stray too far from the straight and narrow,
he’d pull us back.
“I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I
am today without Tim Chase. Even though
he was an only child, he was like a brother
to us.”
Friends and colleagues of Dr. Chase
have begun an endowed scholarship fund
in his honor. For more information, contact
Office of Advancement and University
Relations at (870) 460-1028.
Summer 2016 9