William James Chance

On Saturday, November 1, 2025, William James Chance, also known as WJ, Will, and Jimmy, suffered a heart issue and died at his home. Paramedics were called and attempted to resuscitate him at his home, in the ambulance, and at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital in WI. About an hour later, Mr. Chance was pronounced dead. Mr. Chance was born in Cochran, GA, on August 27, 1937, to John William (Will) Chance and Annie Pearl Chance (née Darsey, formerly NeSmith). Mr. Chance lived for 88 years and was a husband and father. He was married to Clare Chance from December 18, 1958, to May 15, 1990, and had two sons. On March 6, 1993, Mr. Chance married Thelma Rittenberg. They remained married until his death. Mr. Chance was a farmer until he left home to join the Coast Guard on March 29, 1955. Mr. Chance was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard on March 28, 1963. From December 1959 to December 1960, Mr. and Mrs. Chance lived in Cochran, GA, and, in addition to being a Coast Guard reservist, he worked as a welder for the Blue Bird Body Company in Fort Valley, GA. In December 1960, Mr. and Mrs. Chance moved to Baltimore, MD, where Mr. Chance trained and worked as a Teamster truck driver for the Maryland Transportation Company until the late 1980s. In 1970 the Chances moved to the farming area of Stewartstown, PA. In the late 1980s Mr. Chance began working for Rollins Logistics, a subsidiary of Rollins Truck Leasing, until Rollins Logistics was acquired by United Parcel Service (UPS). In 1995, Mrs. Thelma Chance became a Teamster truck driver, and Mr. and Mrs. Chance drove as a team until their retirement from UPS in 2004. During their retirement, from 2007 to 2021, Mr. and Mrs. Chance purchased a pickup with tow camper and traveled throughout the United States. As age and health issues caught up with Mr. and Mrs. Chance, they ended their RV life and settled permanently in a residence next to their son and daughter-in-law in Richfield, WI. Mr. Chance was preceded in death by his father, mother, and brothers, Mr. Thomas (Podge) Nesmith, Mr. Fredrick (Fred) NeSmith, Albert J. NeSmith, and John C. (JC) Chance, as well as his sisters. Miss Mary Chance, Mrs. Florine Tucker (née NeSmith), Mrs. Massie Lee Adkins (née Chance), Mrs. Johnnie Darsey (née Chance), and two Chance sisters who died in infancy. Mr. Chance is survived by his wife, Mrs. Thelma Augusta Chance (née Wolff, formerly Rittenberg), the mother of his sons, Mrs. Etta Clarene (Clare) Chance (née Fookes), his son and daughter-in-law, Mr. James (Jim or Jr) and Dr. Suzette Chance (née Parquette), his son Mr. Jeffery (Jef) Chance and his partner Mrs. Yngvildr (Ynga) Odinsdottir, his sister Mrs. Margie Davis (née Chance), his grandson Mr. Austin and his wife Mrs. Abigail (Abbey) Chance (née Thouvenin), his granddaughter Miss Victoria Chance and her fiancé Mr. Joshua Unruh, his great-grandson Stryker Chance, as well as many nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, great-grandnephews, great-grandnieces, and numerous cousins.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William James Chance, please visit our flower store.