Anthony E. Chavez

Murrieta - It is with a heavy heart that the family shares the news that Anthony E. "Tony" Chavez died peacefully on February 13th, 2019 under hospice care, after a brief and valiant battle with bone cancer. He was 85. Tony is survived by his beautiful wife of 59 years, Anna; three children, Andrea (Christensen) and son-in-law Ken of San Ramon, California, Stephen and daughter-in-law Nancy of Los Angeles, California and daughter Laura (Coovert) and son-in-law David of Corona, California; sister Mary Dee Ricks of Murrieta, California, brother Ben Blair of Gardnerville, Nevada and sister Kathy Moore of Santa Rosa, California; grand-children Aimee Clark of Phoenix, Arizona, Kyle Henkler of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bobby Coovert and Lisa Coovert, both of Corona, California; and great grand-children Andre, Audreena and Andru. Tony was born on January 7th, 1934 in Corona, California to Andrew and Mary (Casas). Of note is the fact that Tony was a sixth generation Californian, a true Spanish Land Grant descendant, and a documented direct descendant of Jose' Antonio Yorba, a member of Spanish-backed Portola Expedition of 1769. Among Tony's colorful family tree you'll find the names Yorba, Botiller, Sepulveda, Dominguez, Serrano, Alvarado and of course, Chavez. Tony graduated from Corona High School, class of 1952, followed by one year at Riverside Junior College. Gravitating towards the new industry of light and precious metals, Tony began his professional career at Harvey Aluminum (eventually Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin) in Torrance, California in 1958. In building his career, Tony accepted opportunities in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, from both Martin Marietta and National Aluminum. He returned to California in 1978 to join the leadership team at Martin Marietta's Torrance facility (where he started in 1958) as production control manager, among other roles, until he took early retirement in 1988. This proved to be "too early", as Tony joined Universal Alloy Corporation of Anaheim, California in late 1988, spending another 11 years working in the light and precious metal industry, focused on the Boeing account. Tony's intellect and drive served him well throughout his life. For example, and somewhat out of necessity, he taught himself basic carpentry, a skill that came in handy when the family needed a linen closet, or when he built his own darkroom to feed his passion for another self-taught hobby, photography. But his true passion was sailing. He learned to sail on LA harbor as a young man, and eventually campaigned a Lightning while living in the Midwest, his son Stephen and daughter Laura as crew. After only three years of focused effort, they became local fleet champions, a notable achievement. Beyond racing his beloved Lightning, Tony enjoyed sailing trips with friends in both the Caribbean and the Pacific, participated in several offshore races, and never missed a chance to make a "Catalina Run", something he did more than once with his son. He and his wife Anna retired in Murrieta, California in 1999, settling on the back nine on one of the local golf courses he played often in his retirement. Over the last 20 years, they hosted their ever-growing family for the holidays or just to get together. Each gathering was full of laughter, great stories and a proper glass of red wine, served promptly at 4pm. A private viewing will be held on Thursday, February 28th at the Thomas Miller Mortuary, 1118 East 6th Street, Corona, California, 92879. Services will be the following day, March 1st, at 10am, at St. Martha's Catholic Church, 37200 Whitewood Road, Murrieta, California, 92563, followed by the processional to the Murrieta Valley Cemetery, 42800 Ivy Street, Murrieta, California, 92562. The proceedings will conclude with a return to St. Martha's for a reception. Service St. Martha Catholic Church 37200 Whitewood Rd Murrieta, California 92563 (951) 698-8180 | Friday 3/1, 10:00 am - 11:00 am Cemetery Murrieta Valley Cemetery 42800 Ivy St Murrieta, California 92562 (951) 677-4223 | Friday 3/1, 11:15 am