John Chalmers

1951 - 2018

John A. Chalmers, DDS, MPH

On October 14, 2018, Dr. John Austin Chalmers passed away surrounded by his loving family in Santa Rosa, CA. He was 67 years old. He was born in Farnham, Surrey, England in 1951, a son of Colin and Eileen Chalmers. John immigrated to the US with his parents in 1955 when his father, a British scientist, was brought over to work in the US Defense industry. John spent his childhood moving around the Southwest, including the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, during the time of the first moonwalk. His father was involved in the construction of the lunar landing module and the family was part of the time capsule placed on the moon.
John graduated from Palos Verdes High School in 1969, where he was voted "Most Likely to Succeed." Though he was very proud to be British, he became a US citizen in 1972 in order to be able to attend dental school. He graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1973, and the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in 1976. John continued his studies with post doctorate work at Harvard University from 1978 to 1981, where he specialized in Endodontics and earned a Master's in Public Health. His time at Harvard was a life-changing experience for him, as he felt he was truly challenged for the first time.
After school, John spent several months in Europe following the Formula-1 Grand Prix circuit with a Press pass. After Europe, he settled in Berkeley, where he opened an endodontic practice and met his future wife, Mary Ellen. They were married in 1990. The two most important things in his life were his two daughters, Christen and Jackie. In 1997, John retired from full-time practice and the family moved to Santa Rosa to raise the girls and build his beloved house in Bennett Valley. Once the house was completed, he returned to part-time practice, retiring permanently in 2012. John was a 25-year member of the Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club. After his family, his favorite things were golf, skiing, and salt-water fly-fishing with friends. He spent a great deal of time at Squaw Valley and Abaco, Bahamas.
He also spent many hours on the sidelines of Santa Rosa United soccer games and Montgomery High School athletic events cheering on his daughters. John was a straight shooter, larger than life, and SO MUCH fun! He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Sullivan Chalmers, and 2 daughters, Christen and Jackie, all of Santa Rosa. Services will be held from 11:00am until 2:00pm on Sunday, December 16, 2018 at the Jackson Park Ranch, 4057 Grange Road, in Santa Rosa. Memorials may be made to the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, memory.ucsf.edu.