Obituary of Lewis David Hambro

Lewis “Chick” Hambro

April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2017

Born April 24, 1930 in Boston, Massachusetts, Lewis David Hambro (Chick) was named for both of his grandfathers.  Nicknamed “Chick” when his grandmother Regina called him her “Little Chickie”, he was the eldest of two children born to George and Ann Hambro, grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and retained hints of his Boston accent throughout his 87 years.

Following the death of his father in 1943, Chick got his first summer job working in a fruit market for thirty-five cents an hour.  The following summer and the one after that, he worked in an ice cream parlor and was paid fifty cents an hour as one of the original “soda jerks” (a never-ending source of humor for his kids!)

During the school year he worked part time developing film for a photography studio in Boston.  After graduating from Boston Technical High School in 1947 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Army Security Agency.  In 1948, he was re-assigned to the Air Force Security Service in Japan.

After discharge from the Air Force, he returned to Boston and worked for various photo studios as a children's portrait photographer.  He left Boston in 1951 to work for American Airlines in New York as a teletype operator.  In July 1960, he joined the Federal Aviation Agency as a Radar Technician. 

In 1961, he married his bride of almost 50 years, Virginia (Ginny) Stiles Hambro and together they raised 4 children.

He left the FAA in Dec 1966 for a position as an Air Force Technical Representative for the new F-111 fighter aircraft electronic systems at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.  He also taught electronics part time for the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.

In February 1976, Chick accepted a European assignment as an electronic trouble-shooter and Quality Control Inspector for the Air Force.  Living a year and a half in Italy, and another year and half in Germany gave the family a wonderful opportunity to see much of Europe.  The family returned to Las Vegas in March of 1979.  In May of that year Chick accepted a Quality Assurance position with the Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station, Port Hueneme, California.  He became a Branch Manager in 1987 and retired in July 1994.

Chick’s hobbies included genealogy, listening and dancing (or his version of it anyway) to big band music, and woodworking, having constructed countless handcrafted toys – always artistically finished in bright colors by Ginny – for their many grandkids.  Following Ginny’s passing in 2010, Chick moved from Camarillo to University Village in Thousand Oaks and greatly enjoyed an active lifestyle and many new friendships.        

Nothing was more dear to Chick than his family and their well-being.  He is survived by son Chip, daughter Kathy Bergh (husband Eric), daughter Debbie Turner, and son John (wife Tracy), 11 grandchildren, one great grandchild, and sister Renee (husband Al) who will all miss him dearly along with his goofy “dad” humor and willingness to debate – endlessly – the politics of the day.

Per Chick’s wishes, there will be no public service.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Chick’s favorite charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org), in his honor.