Nearly two years after losing his grandson Chase to fentanyl, Dennis Rupert still grieves.

He feels two people died that day in 2021.

“I lost an important part of my life,” Rupert said. “I miss him every day.”

Rupert, of Lehighton, is just one of many parents, grandparents and loved ones left behind, dealing with the loss of a young family member at the hand of drugs laced with lethal doses of fentanyl that are widely available in the region and across the nation.

The 65-year-old retiree hopes to prevent another family from feeling the unending pain and sadness he carries every day.

Rupert has reached out to police, who he says know who provided his grandson with the drugs, as well as legislators to stop the flow of the drugs that are killing the country’s young people.

“You need to talk to your children,” Rupert said. “You need to keep them away from drugs.

“I wish I could go to a seminar and talk about this,” he said. “To touch people, and say, ‘This needs to stop.’”

In Chase Elliott Frable, Rupert saw a young life full of promise.

His grandson could have played career baseball. Rupert said he was good enough.

Or Chase could have become an Army sniper, another career path the young man dreamed about, he said.

Instead, some bad breaks and one bad decision ended it all.

A broken leg while Chase was still in high school shattered any dreams of playing ball or serving in the military. Rupert said Chase quit school and never pursued a driver’s license.

Rupert suspected his grandson dabbled in drugs and began hanging with the wrong crowd.

He remembers telling Chase, “You’re going to die, if you don’t get away from this stuff.”

Rupert thought he succeeded, as his grandson stopped for a while.

“He was a good kid,” he said.

Rupert wanted Chase to move in with him, work with him, learn the wood flooring business and one day hand him the keys - giving him everything he had built.

It never happened.

Chase died after taking a pain pill laced with fentanyl, Rupert said.

Now, Rupert said all he has are memories - the sad reminders of what he has no more.

“You can’t hold a memory,” he said.

Rupert kissed Chase’s forehead for the last time as he lay in a casket, saying a final goodbye.

He now hopes to get the person who gave Chase the pill off the streets, and to get legislators to do their jobs.

One area legislator, state Rep. Doyle Heffley, has been named chairman of the Human Services Committee, which oversees state drug and alcohol programs.

A long-standing member of the committee, Heffley plans on continuing his work in the fight against opioids and illegal drugs.

Heffley also plans on re-introducing House Bill 2820, which would stiffen penalties for those making or selling fentanyl or fentanyl-laced drugs, this session.

“Many drug dealers will mix fentanyl with other street drugs, including cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, Oxycodone and Xanax in order to increase potency, thereby promoting addiction and demand for the drug,” he said.

“Alarmingly, drug users will often be ignorant of the fact that the drug they are about to ingest contains a lethal dosage of fentanyl,” Heffley said.

Under Heffley’s bill, those making or selling fentanyl could be sentenced to 20 years in jail and pay up to $500,000 in fines.

Rupert had reached out last year to U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, who co-sponsored the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, which the congressman said was blocked when introduced on the House floor.

Meuser’s Deputy District Director Tom Gerhard said his thoughts and prayers go out to Rupert and his family.

“Too many lives have been lost because of cases like this,” Gerhard said. “We will continue our fight (in) the war on drugs.”

Rupert lost a part of himself when his grandson died, and he carries his grief with him always. He wears a photo of Chase on a chain around his neck. On the back, it reads, “I will carry you with me until I see you again. Chase 2002-2021”

“We need to get something these kids can believe in other than just drugs,” Rupert said.

He would like to see the flood of drugs coming into the country and communities stopped, especially fentanyl.

“I lost a grandson because of this,” Rupert said. “He didn’t want to die. This was not something he wanted to do. There is no safe place to do drugs. There is no safe place.”