Nancy McDuffee Chase, of Ithaca, who worked for the State Department during World War II and later edited Time magazine, died peacefully in Ithaca on her 94th birthday, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016.

“Although Nancy spent much of her time in New York City, she felt Rensselaerville was her home,” her family wrote in a tribute.

Ms. Chase was a long-time elder of the Rensselaerville Presbyterian Church and organized visiting ministers for summer services there for many years. She was an honorary director of the E.N. Huyck Preserve and was active and well known in Rensselaerville throughout her life.

Ms. Chase was born on Jan. 20, 1922 in Hampton, Virginia to the late Helen Golden Chase and Charles Richard Chase. A graduate of The Albany Academy for Girls and Bryn Mawr College, she went on to earn her master’s degree in international relations from The Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston.

She worked at the State Department in Washington, D.C. from 1944 to 1948. As part of this work, she attended the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco in 1945.

Ms. Chase then worked for many years at Time magazine in New York City as a researcher and head researcher in different sections of the magazine. In the latter part of her career at Time, she worked in the Letters to the Editor department, rising to assistant editor.

She is survived by her niece, Barbara A. Chase; her nephew, Richard A. Chase, and his wife, Avery R. Chase; her great nephew, Henry McD. Chase and great niece, Sarah K. Chase; her sister-in-law, Edith C. Chase; and several cousins.

Her parents died before her, as did her brother, Richard G. Chase.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Rensselaerville Presbyterian Church, Post Office Box 47, Rensselaerville, NY 12147, or to the Rensselaerville Library, Post Office Box 188, Rensselaervile, NY 12147. 

The family expresses gratitude to the staff at Bridges Cornell Heights in Ithaca.

A.J. Cunningham Funeral Home in Greenville, New York has care of arrangements. A memorial service will be held at the Rensselaerville Presbyterian Church at a later date.