Chase John Raffaele

Chase John Raffaele passed away Sunday, April 23, 2023. He was 30 years old. He was born December 4, 1992 in Cadillac, Michigan. On May 14, 2022 he married the love of his life, Mallory K. Stall, and she survives him. Chase graduated from Cadillac High School in 2011. After attending the inaugural Link Year program in Branson, MO,he went on to spend four years at Montana State University. In 2016, Chase fulfilled his desire to earn a Navy Seal contract with the US Navy, and in 2018 he began BUDS training in San Diego, CA. Later that year, he elected to transfer to Naval Intelligence and was trained in Dam Neck, VA as an Intelligence Imagery Analyst, earning Top Secret security clearance. During his three-year assignment at the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington, D.C., he was promoted to Petty Officer, 2nd Class. In 2021 he was accepted into the National Intelligence University’s (NIU) Bachelor Program as one of only five naval candidates. He graduated in July 2022 with a 4.0 GPA. He was currently serving at Fleet Force Command in Norfolk, VA as an Op Intel Analyst. Chase was his own person, who put others first, had steadfast faith, and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He was intelligent and a deep thinker, but concise with words. He was kind, loving, gentle, compassionate, generous, and modest, the last to recognize his own gifts. He was passionate about many things and accumulated a broad range of knowledge in his too-short life. He loved to read and learn, from religion, to politics, current events, history, music and more. He played piano, and liked story-telling country songs. In addition to high school hockey, Chase played with Montana State University’s club team and Armed Forces Washington D.C. Hockey Association. Chase was a certified scuba diver, had a private pilot’s license, and accrued time in helicopter training, all prior to joining the Navy. He was adventurous and loved the outdoors, including backcountry skiing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, fishing, white-water kayaking, big-game hunting (both bow and rifle), and snowmobiling. He liked to travel, some of his favorite trips being South Africa, Russia, Sweden, and two Mission trips to Haiti. Chase is also survived by his loving parents, John and Terri Raffaele; brothers, Brock (Natalie) Raffaele, Brinley & Callan; Jason (Chris) Raffaele and Aidan; “Big sister”/cousin, Holly (Kory) Blastic, and their children; grandmother, Aili (Bernie) Allen; aunts and uncles, Ron (Bonnie) Raffaele; Julie (Rush) Clement; Bill (Linda) Voorhees; Jim Voorhees; Sally (Don) Miller; Sandi (Larry) Nyquist; Mike (Gail) Voorhees; in-laws, Chris and Don Stall; Luke and Megan Center, Vivian & Jace; Nancy O’Dell; many very, very special cousins and close friends. He was preceded in death by grandparents William and Toni Voorhees; Eugene Raffaele; cousins Kelsey and Annie Raffaele; and an uncle, Rick Allen. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Friday, May 5, 2023 at First Baptist Church in Cadillac with Rev. David McMahon and Rev. Chad Zaucha officiating. Burial will take place at Maple Hill Cemetery with full military rites under the auspices of the United States Navy. Visitation will be Thursday May 4, 2023 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Peterson Funeral and Cremation Services in Cadillac. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Project; Cadillac Veterans Serving Veterans; or First Baptist Church of Cadillac. An online guestbook is available at www.petersonfh.com.

Chase John Raffaele

December 4, 1992 - April 23, 2023