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John Chalmers Obituary

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.


To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Dec. 4 to Dec. 9, 2018.

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Sponsored by Daniels Chapel of the Roses Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. - Santa Rosa Daniels Chapel of the Rose.

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2 Entries

Michael Krueger

March 30, 2020

I was so sorry to come across this.We were friends in both Jr and Senior high school in 2 different states. We first met in the Houston area where our fathers both worked for the same NASA subcontractor. Mostly I remember many hours spent playing bookshelf war games refighting WW2.His Dad had some awesome war stories. They then were transferred to Palos Verdes and later we did the same. Once again we were in the same school. Coincidentally we both became dentists. Talked a few times after that but as I was in the Midwest we never got together after that. I remember much of those times very well. That I was trying to look him up after all this time shows the effect knowing him had. My sincere condolences to his family in Santa Rosa. I'm sure he is missed greatly.

Dr Ronald Borer

December 15, 2018

John was a student of mine.He found Dentistry very easy. He was an absolute joy to work with. I will miss him. Dr. Ron Borer.

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Memorial Events
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Dec

16

Service

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Jackson Park Ranch

4057 Grange Road, Santa Rosa, CA

Funeral services provided by:

Daniels Chapel of the Roses Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. - Santa Rosa

1225 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

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