Obituaries : Pat Plew; Businessman, Ex-Chamber President

Pat Plew, an Oxnard small business owner and community activist, died Thursday in St. John’s Medical Center in Oxnard of pneumonia. He was 66.

The Oklahoma native retired as a marketing executive from the Bank of America in 1986 and opened a Kwik Kopy Printing Center in the Oxnard Financial Plaza the following year.

He served as Oxnard Chamber of Commerce president until last month and was an active Rotary Club member, winning a Paul Harris Fellowship award.

“He was an activist,” said longtime friend Jere Robings. “He liked to get involved.”

Plew worked on Robings’ unsuccessful county supervisorial bid last year.

“He’s the one who encouraged me to run,” Robings said. “He was very involved in the local political scene.”

Plew attended Phillips University in Oklahoma and the University of Montana, playing baseball at both institutions. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

He is survived by his wife, Delores; a daughter, Pamela Taylor, and a son, Barry Plew, both of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho; a stepdaughter, Linda Mihelich of Billings, Mont.; a stepson, David Allen Wengert of Clearwater, Fla; a sister, Mary Del Vanderwork of Enid, Okla.; a brother, Max Plew of Altus, Okla.; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church, Oxnard. The family asks that donations be made to the American Heart Assn. or the Salvation Army.