Carol and Merle Rock
Jun 28, 2025
Carol F. Rock, 92, a longtime Anchorage, Alaska, resident, passed away June 28, 2025, at Sisters of Providence Hospital in Anchorage.
Carol was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 19, 1933, to Harold and Margaret Melone. In 1939, Carol and her family moved to Glendale, Calif., where she lived throughout her high school years. Carol graduated from Hoover High in June 1951, and married to Edgar "Ed" Chase in 1952. Carol and Ed lived in California until September 1970, when they moved to Alaska; together they opened Bering Sea Originals, a popular gift shop and factory in Anchorage. Following Ed's passing on Nov. 24, 1974, Carol continued her operations of Bering Sea Originals where she met and married Merle "Gordy" Gordon Rock.
Gordy was born in Bemidji, Minn., on Oct. 2, 1934, to Charles and Mildred Rock. Gordy was preceded in death by his mother, Mildred Walden Rock; father, Charles F. Rock; brothers; sisters; and his first wife, Nancy.
Carol is preceded in death by her first husband of 22 years, Edgar "Ed" Elliott Chase; second husband of 46 years, Merle "Gordy" Rock, who passed on Dec. 8, 2023; grandson, Ryan Elliott Thompson; sister, Barbara Ann Melone; and parents, Harold George Melone and Margaret Weiland Melone. Carol is a widow of two military veterans who served our country with distinction. Carol is survived by her children, Kathleen Thompson, Gregory Chase, Mark Chase, Michelle Chase, Donna Rock and Jerry Rock; 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
Gordy and Carol will be interred together at the Elmendorf Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage. Military Honors Christian Ceremony will be held in honor of Merle's extensive military service, which includes three combat theaters across three continents.
Services are scheduled for Friday, July 25, 2025, at the JBER National Cemetery at 2 p.m. AKST. Following the Military Honors Service, family and friends will gather to celebrate Carol and Gordy's life from 4-6:30 p.m., at the Anchorage Glacier Brewhouse.
