John Louis Chew Jr.'s Obituary
John Louis Chew, Jr., 76, died suddenly of a heart attack in Harwood, Maryland on January 10, 2021. He was born at the U.S. Naval Academy. He was the son of VADM John L. Chew and Helen L. Chew and beloved step-mother Julia P. Chew.
John attended schools in Annapolis, England, Italy and graduated boarding school at St. James Episcopal School in Hagerstown, MD. He graduated from The George Washington University, but completed one semester at Sophia University in Japan. His graduate studies began at the University of Maryland, and he completed his Masters degree at the University of Virginia.
In 1969 John and Bunny met on Capital Hill, and both ended up working for the same Congressman. John then started his career as a Park Ranger with the National Park Service (NPS). He created and started the concerts on the National Mall, which have continued since it began in 1971, during his first station at Capitol National Park. In 1972, the NPS transferred John to Prince William Forest Park, near Quantico, Virginia, as a mounted Ranger, bringing him back to his love of horses. John was instrumental in starting one of the first living farm gardens in a National Park.
In 1973, the NPS took John and Bunny to Lake Mead National Recreation Area, where life as a Park Ranger was all encompassing; law enforcement, desert search and rescue, canyon wall climbing and water rescue, and boating. While here, John dove into attending every class where he could expand his knowledge of emergency medical aid in difficult areas. He not only became a scuba diver, but an instructor as well. John also began rock climbing, conducted a large study of big horn sheep, rescued park patrons from mines, earned his Coast Guard captains license, backpacked through the mountains, and rafted through rivers, all to learn more about saving lives and the environment. With his wife by his side, he even participated with a gathering and documenting new species of desert flowers. In 1976, John and Bunny moved to Sequoia National Park. He was District Ranger for the Kern Canyon area which included Mount Whitney. Again, a mounted ranger, but with pack mules in tow, John started his plans for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for the NPS to get serious. Here he added mountain rescue, small airplane accidents, winter cross skiing, ice mountain climbing, serious rock climbing, and heli-skiing to his expertise. He also became a National Ski Patrol and Instructor to use his survival skills while making ice houses for protection to manage avalanche areas. John, along with his team, received a Presidential Citation for a mountainous cave rescue and extraction, which took four days. Amidst the chaos of rescue work, John and Bunny welcomed the birth of a son, with a rather scary trip down switchbacks to arrive at the hospital 15 minutes before actual delivery.
John was then transferred to Shenandoah National Park for another of his strengths: he could relate to any person, in any situation. He defused a volatile situation within a couple weeks and then turned his focus to EMS for the NPS. The only thing missing on this assignment was a horse. He began mentoring the younger rangers and developing a program to work with local community hospitals and EMS. Forest fire suppression in the Park became more pronounced with communities close to those mountains, causing another aspect of EMS management to enter his career. While awaiting the arrival of his new daughter (again down the switchbacks in heavy fog), John was managing a particularly large fire on the east side of the mountains. The Director of the NPS and Secretary of the Interior then requested John go to Washington, DC for six months to draft the first NPS EMS Reference Manual (RM 51). He also was the second group of Rangers to the Alaska Lands Bill to help calm fears that the government was not going to make residents change their way of life. John was assigned to an area in which the locals had burned the NPS plans, so John and another Ranger (the size of a linebacker) stayed glued to each other’s hip 24/7 and at the end of three months, were having beers with locals.
Park Service advancement meant a desk job and he was offered a job with Department of Transportation, National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), which included EMS and he saw an opportunity to make a difference in rural EMS services. John developed a program to assess EMS systems from State Level to County Level. By the time he retired, this various teams of Doctors, EMS Directors and Paramedics from around the country joined in writing curriculum for air, land, and water to improve delivery of EMS. All 50 states, and many local jurisdictions all over the country were completed in 10 years and many asked for second assessments to evaluate their progress. The last impactful project was a brainstorm and publication of the EMS Agenda for the Future, done in Nova Scotia, with a group of 12 amazing State EMS Directors and Doctors from across the country; together they developed a blueprint for EMS.
Deciding to retire, John formed The Emsstar Group, providing consulting services for States/Counties to develop their own specific plans for the future of EMS systems. The University of Pittsburgh employed him as an Adjunct Assistant Professor to consult overseas. His Emsstar team conducted EMS classes in England, and an assessment of both Saudi Arabia (and began development of their system) and Qatar.
After a successful run with Emsstar, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, was looking for a new EMS Director and John decided to get back in the field. For more than eight years he transitioned the county into a system utilizing the new EMS model, and the mentoring and teaching that went with that change. This was a perfect ending to his incredible career(s) in the outside world.
Even in retirement, John continued to live the life of an outdoorsman, but his focus changed. The best of John’s passions were his family and friends. Fondly known as Bubba, John considered himself extremely lucky to have both of his children close by. His family expanded with Denby’s husband, Jason, then Keely (13), and Grayson (11). Jake married Stephanie and Jules (5 in a month) and John IV “Jack” (2) joined the family. John’s patience, mentoring, affection, enjoyment, and tenderness was amazing. Keely got the bug for horses (and all animals) at an early age, thus her bond with John began and it was amazing. An accomplished equestrian herself, she and John had their own language and Keely got that “horse whisperer” ability like John. Grayson (“G” to Bubba), completely and wholeheartedly embraced everything outdoors, including fishing, baseball, soccer, hockey, bow targeting and on and on. Aside from fishing the Chesapeake Bay, John made sure G fished inshore and offshore in North Carolina, and off the coast of Florida. They also seem to have bonded on love for spicey potato chips (it was private between them and very comical). Jules and Jack, although a bit young for the larger endeavors, provided unending entertainment and affection with Bubba. Together they also had a special unique bond as well. Jules shared special messages with him that she insisted to send even after his death. John was in love with all the grandchildren, and was lucky to spend time with Jake, Denby, Jason and Stephanie doing all of the activities he loved.
John leaves behind the love of his life, Bunny. They would have celebrated their 50th wedding in July 2021. John and Bunny lived and loved life together in a way that only true soul mates could. After moving with the Park Service all across the US, John and Bunny called Annapolis home for 30+ years. They have enjoyed an amazing group of friends, neighborhood and each other. Many days were spent cruising the Chesapeake Bay on their boat, Miss Molly. Most recently, John and Bunny were found attending hockey and baseball games, horse shows, dance recitals and babysitting grandchildren.
The family will be having a Celebration of Life in July.
In lieu of flowers, the donations may be made:
• The John Chew Conservation/Habitat Fund, 1273 Bugeye Court, Annapolis MD 21403.
• OperationSecondChance.org
• Make a Wish America – Https://secure2.wish.org
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