Robert David Chew

Robert David Chew, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, passed away July 11 at his home in Canby, Oregon. Born the oldest of three children on April 6, 1950, in Austin, Texas to Ju-Nam and Pearl Chew, Robert grew up a Texan proud of his Chinese heritage and family history. Both his parents immigrated from China as young children through Angel Island. His father settled in El Paso to join his own father and run a family grocery store. His mother settled in Flint Michigan to help her father run a restaurant. Robert is fifth in a chain of eldest sons. His own father’s immediate family was separated for decades by the Communist Revolution and World War II, with his father and grandfather living in El Paso, while his grandmother and two youngest aunts and uncles were unable to leave China. Robert grew up in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. An intelligent and curious child, Robert learned lab science at a young age with careful instruction by his father, who was a chemical engineer at Mobil Labs. His early forays in science resulted in only one near disaster when his attempts to hide batteries from his younger brothers in the oven led to one heck of a surprise kitchen fire. Robert excelled academically, attending South Oak Cliff High School, where he was salutatorian and student body president of a school that combined students from 13 feeder schools during federally mandated integration. A self-described band nerd and first-chair flute, he had fond memories of playing in the Cotton Bowl parade and the parade celebrating the opening of Interstate 35 through Dallas. Robert was a member of the high school laser club where they built a laser and experimented with it, inspired by an uncle who founded an early startup in that field. In his junior year, Robert was a member of the school’s team (and the only non-senior) that participated in a citywide science quiz show in Dallas called Science Quizdown, which was televised on the local PBS channel. His team won the championship despite being viewed as underdogs because they were an integrated school. Robert was proud of helping demonstrate how strong South Oak Cliff’s science program was, particularly to the snootier north Dallas schools. He was also active in scouting, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and a member of ROTC, the demands of which actually made him late for his SAT test. Robert insisted that this impediment almost certainly hurt his score, but he must have done well anyway since he was admitted to Harvard University, where he arrived in 1968. Raised to be socially aware and growing up in the shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Robert was a great advocate for social justice. Politically, he described himself as a raging moderate. That was until the first time he was tear gassed on campus on his way to class. He did, however, always keep his Texas sensibilities, balking at the campus protestors’ PR trick of the time to always put “chicks up front” during protests to publicize beatings of women in front of the TV cameras. During the 1970s, Robert was a great supporter of the women’s movement, encouraged by his mother, who had a new women’s lib classic waiting for him to read every time he came home from college. The gentle encouragement was, in reality, required reading, a mandatory education that Robert’s wife, Jane, still thanks her mother-in-law for. After leaving Harvard with a B.A. in Engineering and Applied Physics, Robert attended graduate school at his beloved University of Texas at Austin. Ever the Texan, Robert was a lifelong Longhorns and Cowboys fan, and shares his Longhorn alumnus status with his father and both brothers. In the Spring of 1975, Robert decided to look for work without having written his thesis, thinking he would have time to work on it later. Ultimately, he left the Forty Acres with an all-but-thesis MS in Electrical Engineering and started a long and successful career in the infant high-tech industry. This led Robert to Portland, Oregon to start his career at Tektronix, where his UT course on microprocessors would immediately give him an advantage over older engineers who were not experienced with the new technology. Early on, he realized that all Tektronix products needed to be redesigned with microprocessors and proposed a microprocessor development and debug system that could be used across the industry. This became a very successful new business for Tektronix and helped launch his career. Robert spent 14 years at Tektronix, starting as a Research Department Manager in Tek Labs and then serving as Workstation Manager in the CAE Systems Division, a Senior Software Engineer in the CAE Systems Division, and a Product Development Manager in the Workstation Division. After leaving Tektronix, Robert worked in a number of startup companies working as: Product Manager at Zeelan Technology; President of RAINet Inc.; VP Operations at RAINet when it became a member of the Verio Group; Director of Special Projects at NTT/Verio; Principal of Chew & Chew Partners; and Chief Operating Officer at Acumar Technology. Long a bachelor with a well-ordered life, Robert’s organized existence would be shaken up when he met and fell in love with Jane Carrasco. Upon marrying Jane in 1986, Robert found himself a stepfather of three: 9-year-old Andres and college-aged Dominique and Anton. As if that change wasn’t enough, the couple soon adopted three more young children: Renata, Ben and Johnny. In the blink of an eye, Robert went from a care-free bachelor to a father of six! His children remember Robert fondly for hosting amazing dinners, whether it was Chinese, barbecue or any number of cuisines that he mastered. And as adults, they enjoyed his generosity with the remarkable wine cellar he built as a bachelor and then slowly emptied during his married life. Robert spent his years after retirement travelling the country with Jane in an RV. The two rented out their home in Canby, Oregon, and were fulltime on the road for seven years. Their travels took them to every state in the Lower 48. The trips were often with grandchildren in tow, who spent summers with Robert and Jane in an amazing and fun-filled learning environment full of fishing, camping and visiting historical sites. Robert was known for his love of conversation, family gatherings and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a tremendous cook who loved football, rock and roll music, travelling Broadway shows, marching bands, chamber music, a good glass of wine and Shiner beer. He was much loved and will be greatly missed. Robert is survived by his wife of 38 years, Jane Chew of Canby, Ore.; six children, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren: Dominique Barrett, husband Edward and children Jackson, Bianca and Kayla and granddaughters Alice and Aurora of Portland, Ore.; Anton Caputo, wife Jenny and children Dante and Lexi of Austin, Tx.; Andres Caputo, wife Nicole and daughters Gabriella and Romana of Portland, Ore.; Benjamin Chew, partner Helene Wu and daughter Tabitha; Renata Chew and partner Andy Buster; Jonathan Chew, partner Tamara Codor and daughters Sophia and Evie, all of Seattle, Wash. He is also survived by two siblings: Lawrence Chew and wife Dannette Lowry of Valparaiso Indiana; and Stephen Chew, wife Daisy Wong and son Michael of Birmingham, Ala.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ju-Nam and Pearl Chew. Visitation will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, August 2 with a funeral service at 10 a.m. at Hillside Chapel Funeral Home, 1306 7th Street, Oregon City, Ore., 97045. Burial is promptly at 1 p.m. at River View Cemetery, 300 S. Taylor’s Ferry Road, Portland, Ore. Flowers should be delivered to Hillside Chapel no later than Friday afternoon. Donations in Robert honor can be sent to the Canby Center, 681 SW 2nd Ave. Canby, OR 97013 or the Canby Public Library Foundation at https://canbypubliclibraryfoundation.org/support/

Robert David Chew

April 6, 1950 - July 11, 2025