Edgar L. “Dooky” Chase III, the son of New Orleans restaurant owners Leah and Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr., has died at age 74. The patriarch and legacy of the entrepreneurial family pronounced dead on Feb. 21.
Chase III was surrounded by relatives and wife, Alva, as he died, as the family released a statement on the “passionate New Orleanian” and attorney that worked to better his community, per WGNO.
“Dooky was a passionate New Orleanian that proudly served on numerous local, state and regional boards focused on strengthening and improving our community and bringing people together,” the family expressed in the written announcement. “In addition to being a CPA and attorney, Dooky was a lifelong educator and university administrator that educated and mentored thousands of students and young professionals. He was a principled man, who was joyfully dedicated to being of service to others. Dooky was filled with passion and faith which was exhibited in his daily life and in his interactions with others. He believed in the power of love for mankind and was guided by the ideals of liberty.”
His parents’ famed restaurant, Dooky Chase’s, was a pivotal meeting place during the Civil Rights Movement after its reimagining as a sit-down establishment by his mother, Leah. The restaurant still stands today as a family-owned business of Black American history, Creole cooking, and celebration of Black artists. The restaurant was visited by civic leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall during their fight for racial equity, and in modern times by former President Barack Obama and other public figures.
New Orleans’ Mayor Latoya Cantrell also expressed her condolences toward the Chase family on the loss of their influential patriarch.
“Advocating for change on the local, state and regional levels, he always kept community at his core,” stated Mayor Cantrell on Chase III’s legacy. “As stated by his family, Dooky was ‘joyfully dedicated to being of service to others,’ which was demonstrated by his tireless dedication at the family-owned restaurants, as well as through his career in education and law. The contributions of the Chase family are felt across the world, and my deepest condolences go out to his wife Alva and the entire Chase family.”
Funeral services will be conducted on Feb. 29 in New Orleans, as the family requests that donations be made in lieu of flowers to the The Edgar “Dooky” Jr. and Leah Chase Family Foundation in his honor.
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