Donald Stanley Chakas

August 29, 1930 - November 11, 2015

Donald Stanley Chakas

August 29, 1930 - November 11, 2015

Obituary

Donald S. Chakas passed away November 11, 2015. He was born in St Charles, IL. on August 29, 1930 to Stanley and Edith Chakas.

Donald joined Caterpillar in 1952 as a “hooker” on a boom crane at Joliet, IL. He went to night school in transportation and regulatory law and transferred to General Offices in Peoria, IL.  He became the Supervisor of International Distribution and worked on the Industry side of developing containerization for intermodal distribution.  Donald was an appointed member of “International Standards Organization” working with ocean carriers.  He also was appointed to their steering committee of the Containerization and Intermodal Institute.  Later served as President and then Chairman of that organization and remained on the Board of Directors until 1992. 

In 1969, he joined a consortium made up of Cunard/Port Line, Blue Star Line, Ellermann Lines and the Australian National Line to build and operate container ships in the North American/Australia & New Zealand trades.  A new company was formed, “Associated Container Transportation, operating as Pacific America Container Express (PACE Line) which was named by daughter, Patty. Donald was also appointed Executive Vice President and General Manager in 1982, with offices in the World Trade Center in New York.  ACT operated 8 owned vessels, plus additional charters in this trade.  Donald retired in 1991 and moved to Bellingham, WA. 

Donald was strong willed, generous, intelligent, and engaging. He enjoyed going for drives and checking the Bellingham Harbor for ships, attending theatre/symphony events, cheering on his favorite teams, going on family outings, sharing stories, doting on his great grandchildren, giving active support to all he knew, reminiscing about his late wife Dolly, fishing, sharing good food with his friends and family. He was also very up-to-date, largely due to his passion for the stock market and daily news.

Don will be greatly missed by his family and friends. He is survived by son-in-law Glendon Scott and wife Marilyn McGarry; grandchildren Stewart Scott and wife Angela Polifroni, Greg Scott and wife Christy Scott, Danny Scott and wife Chrissy Ingram, and Jessica Scott; great grandchildren Jacob Scott and Isabel Scott. He was preceded in death by his wife Dolly Chakas; daughter Patricia Ann Scott; siblings Anne Chesney Smith and Marion Chesney.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Spring Creek, 223 E. Bakerview Rd, Bellingham, WA. In lieu of flowers, donations may go to the local Diabetes Society, MS Society or charity of your choice.

Celebration Of Life

  • Date & Time: January 1, 1970 (12:00 AM)
  • Venue: Spring Creek Assisted Living
  • Location: 223 E Bakerview Dr Bellingham, WA 98226 - (Get Directions)

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16 responses to Donald Stanley Chakas

  1. I was saddened to hear of Don’s passing. He was my immediate superior at ACT/PACE for eighteen years. He was a good boss, hard working, fair, kind and dedicated to the Company. Performance and Service were his goals and he made sure the Customers received them.
    He always had a wonderful outlook on life and it showed particularly in recent years as his health problems grew. And Oh, How he loved those grandchildren. Each Christmas he would list their accomplishments until last year they had translated into a Doctor, a Commercial Pilot, a College Professor and a University Social Worker. Plus a bonus – those wonderful great grandchildren.
    Don was a good man.
    May he rest in peace.
    Pete Vickers

  2. As the Captain of the ship we called ACT/PACE,
    Don, guided our vessel through many rough seas and storms with great skill and leadership.

    His many successful voyages provided the bounty which allowed his crew the opportunity to care for their loved ones over many years..

    It was his confidence that became ours and helped to calm any concerns of ever floundering..

    Our Captain is now at rest having completed his final voyage.

    Let us lower the flags, sail and remember him always as our good Captain.

  3. I am so very sorry to hear of Don’s death. I recall many happy times in New York when I visited ACT PACE from London and in the evenings, Don would take me out for dinner and continue the lively discussions about shipping and life in general.. He was a great enthusiast and a brave man. After his leg amputation he was still sending messages about his plans to come to London and maintained his deep interest in the world of shipping. A good man and a great loss. Ian Weatherston

  4. Mike Northen says:

    I first got to know Don when he worked for Caterpillar Tractor in their Peoria Office. I used to call on him looking for shipping business and I can tell you those enormous Tractors made great paying cargo. I must however also tell you he was certainly my most demanding customer. He was always looking for better freight rates and quicker delivery.So, when we moved into the container business and formed PACE Line I flew to Peoria and made him an offer that he could not refuse and in doing so got the best Ex.VP. in the shipping business. He looked at problems and dealt with things from the exporters view and provided all the right answers.
    I might also add that I got many phone calls from shipowner friends thanking me for solving one of their headaches.
    From that time on we developed a very close working relationship and personal friendship.
    I must also say that nothing ever got Don down even in difficult and sad times he always had a smile on his face.
    Don you will be greatly missed by all. MBN

  5. Don Chakas was family to me.
    I first met Mr. Chakas and his wife Dolly 1969 the same year he joined ACT / PACE. That Summer my parents were traveling overseas for business and the Chakas’s offered to have me come stay with them at their home in Chatham, NJ.

    I can’t remember how long I spent with them on that particular visit but I’m guessing around three weeks. It was a great three weeks. They had a pool – we did not. Dolly taught me to needlepoint …. yeah, I know that was an interesting thing to learn. Patty, their daughter was somewhat older and into more teenage things than I was but made time to join Don and I on our evening trips to Friendly’s Ice Cream.

    On the same visit to Chatham, Don took me on a fishing trip out of Cape May on the Jersey Shore … it was one of those days where the swell and wind prohibited finding a peaceful course, as a result the boat healed, yawed and corkscrewed for most of the voyage. Other than the skipper and deckhand everyone on board was sick with the exception of Don and I … we fished and caught bluefish for several hours before it was decided that returning to port would be good for the balance of the passengers. Somewhere to this day I have a photograph of a young boy holding up the largest Bluefish of the day with Don standing right behind me, smiling from ear to ear. The smile that no one ever forgets. (Don Probably had one of the largest smiles I have ever seen, it was incredible) We took that fish home and later that evening grilled it and had it for dinner. Discovered I don’t like Bluefish and it does not like me. Don & Dolly comforted me and my upset stomach for hours that night.

    Those are just a couple of the childhood memories of Don Chakas that stick with me. He will always be a part of me and though I have not seen him recently I am lucky to have had so much time with him in different capacities over the years – from child hood to working alongside him to becoming a client. There is so much more that can be said …. Love you Don… thanks for the wisdom.

    In Closing …. not everyone will know or remember some of this.

    The ACT / PACE DAYS :

    Don was almost always the first person through the doors each morning at ACT / PACE on the 81st for of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

    His lower right desk drawer one down from the top contained, Jams, Jellies, Peanut Butter and a lot of Alka Seltzer. Don arrived each morning with a Bagel and then doctored it up the way he liked it. Soon after that he took Alka Seltzer.

    He loved eating at the Market Bar & Grill and the Odeon Cafe. I never saw Don say no to Desert. I think I inherited that trait from him. Not a bad thing.

    Don was the KING of giveaways …. As Vice President and self appointed minister of all thing give away related. Don had more pocket knives, golf balls, zippo lighters, letter openers, pens, pencils, digital clocks, bags and other assorted items promoting ACT / PACE .. I think I left out paper weights. He sifted through the guff and established the right items to perpetuate the image that ACT / PACE wanted to project.

    You truly left everyone with a lot of great memories. I can’t think of anything better to have left behind as you go forward. God’s speed.

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