John Terry Chase was born on November 7, 1934 in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Reed College in 1959 with a BA in History and later received an MA in History from George Mason University in 1987.

After relocating to Arlington, Virginia, Chase served as a speech writer for the Environmental Protection Agency during the Carter Administration. He later taught American history at the International School in Bethesda, Maryland from 1989 to 1995.

He authored a number of history books, including "Gum Springs: Triumph of a Black Community" (1990), which was commissioned by the Heritage Resources Branch of the Fairfax County Office of Comprehensive Planning. The book focused on the dynamics of community building and history in Gum Springs. The community earned its name from a gum tree on the property that George Washington’s nephew, Bushrod, willed to freedman West Ford.

Chase also wrote "The Study of American History: Volume 1" (1974) and "Recreation for Urban America" (1979) with the National Committee for Urban Recreation. In addition, he and his wife Sara Lee Hannum Chase co-edited two anthologies of contemporary and nature-related poetry: "To Play Man Number One: Poems of Modern Man" (1969) and "The Wind is Round" (1970).

Chase died of a stroke at age 79 on June 1, 2014 at a retirement community in Mitchellville, Maryland.