Dr. William G. Chance

William G. (Bill) Chance, age 87, died early Sunday morning at his home in Jonesboro. He was Professor emeritus in the Department of Elementary Education at Arkansas State University. He served as the chairman of both Elementary Education and Special Education on separate occasions during his tenure at the university.

Dr. Chance was the author on several scholarly articles during his career including one of the reorganization of the Little Rock School District entitled, “Between a Little Rock and a Hard Place.”

He earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Wichita State University and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Prior to his tenure at ASU, Dr. Chance was principal at Minnehaha Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas. He also taught at Minnehaha as well as Kingman and Fredonia, Kansas.

Dr. Chance was a veteran of W.W. II, having served in the U.S. Navy as a sonar operator on a submarine chaser in the Caribbean. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Nancy Chance Hunter, and by a son-in-law, James Cary Gillespie.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Doris A. Blank Chance of the home; 2 sisters, Betty Williams of Mesa, Arizona and Jo Ann Ireland of Shawnee Mission, Kansas; 2 children: Greg Chance (Cindy) of Jonesboro, and Rebetta Gillespie of Jackson, Tennessee; and 2 grandsons: Jeremy Gillespie of Jackson, Tennessee, and Cameron Gillespie of Searcy.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 in Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church with Rev. Rex Darling officiating and Emerson Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Burial in Pleasant Grove Cemetery will be private.

For lasting memorials, the family asks that consideration be given to NEA Humane Society, 6011 E. Highland Dr., Jonesboro, AR 72401, or to Helping Neighbors Food Pantry, 900 W. Huntington Ave., P.O. Box 19182, Jonesboro, AR 72403.