George W. Chew; Park Board Member, Dentist

Longtime Thousand Oaks dentist George Wellington Chew died Tuesday at Los Robles Regional Medical Center following complications from a stroke. He was 72.

Chew was born March 25, 1926, in Los Angeles. He attended grade school and high school in Los Angeles before serving in the Army in World War II as a lieutenant.

Following the war, Chew returned to Los Angeles and attended UCLA. He graduated in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and worked for awhile as a research chemist at Aerojet General in Azusa, his family said.

In 1960, Chew graduated from USC in the top 10 of his class with a doctorate in dental surgery, his family said. Upon graduation, he started a general dental practice in Thousand Oaks, one of the first in that city, according to family members.

In 1963, Chew and his family moved from Los Angeles to Thousand Oaks, where he served as president of the Conejo Valley Academy of Dentistry. He was also a director on the city’s park board and was a member of Ventura County’s dental society.

He was a Lions Club member and on staff at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. He also enjoyed golf.

“He was really devoted to his family and his patients and Thousand Oaks,” said Chew’s daughter, Stephanie Chew Grossman of Minneapolis.

After Chew survived a diagnosis of cancer about six years ago, he spent time traveling with his wife Florence and adult children to France, Florida and the Caribbean.

“Those five years allowed him to really have some very good quality time with all of us,” Grossman said.

In 1974, Chew and his wife relocated to Calabasas, where he lived until his death. Chew continued to work at his practice in Thousand Oaks until he suffered a stroke in August. Chew’s son, Gregory B. Chew of Calabasas, and daughter-in-law now run the dental practice.

In addition to his wife, daughter and son, Chew is survived by another son, Russell G. Chew of Dallas; another daughter, Valerie Chew Geier of Berkeley; three brothers, Henry R. Chew of Hollywood, Arthur Chew of Montebello and Richard Chew of Pacific Palisades; one sister, Ida Lee of Thousand Oaks, and seven grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Chinese Christian Church in Thousand Oaks. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary in Westlake Village is handling the arrangements.

Memorial contributions can be made in Chew’s name to the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation in Los Angeles.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.