Eleanor Barrow Chase (December 21, 1918 – May 31, 2002) was an American social worker and civic leader in Spokane, Washington.
She was particularly active in organizations devoted to young people and to education, and was the first African American woman on the board of trustees at Eastern Washington University,[1] where she was instrumental in securing EWU's admission as a member of the Big Sky Conference in 1987.
She attended Edison Grade School, and graduated as valedictorian at Libby Junior High, where she also ran track.
[11][12] Although her talent as a singer was sufficient that she had envisioned pursuing it as her career, after her marriage to James Everett Chase in 1942 and the birth of their son, Roland, the following year, she elected to remain a homemaker while the boy was young.
[13][14] She was praised for her advocacy: one of the judges who presided over cases in which she testified later commented that "Eleanor has always been very pro-children and an advocate of good parenting skills.
In a report given by Trustees Chair Jean Beschel, Chase was also credited as being instrumental in Eastern Washington University's acceptance into the Big Sky Conference.
[18] In a 1991 magazine profile, Chase reflected on her many service projects, and noted that she was "proudest of ... her involvement with the K-12 Education Strategies program of Momentum 91.
After graduating from Whitworth College, the two were married in 1942 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Spokane's West Central neighborhood.