Chong Art Lew

Chong Art Lew of Fullerton, California, passed away on February 20, 2025. He was born on September 9, 1938 in Canton (Guangdong) Province, China, and came by boat to the United States at the age of two with his mother Sew Young Louie and brother Wing as they fled the Japanese army’s invasion of China. His father, Ward C Lew, was already living in Los Angeles, having immigrated as a teenager and working his way up to becoming a merchant and small business owner. Chong told the story of his father, mother, and siblings working in the laundry business in Los Angeles in “Son of a Laundryman,” a chapter of the book Bridging the Centuries: History of Chinese Americans in Southern California, published by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in 2001.

Chong grew up in South Los Angeles in the East Adams neighborhood where many other Chinese immigrant families had settled. He attended public schools, graduating from Belmont High School and going on first to community college and later to California State University, Los Angeles, where he majored in Biology with a minor in Industrial Studies. He served in the Air Force Reserves as a lab technician with the medical unit, while continuing to help his father at the laundries and pursue his passion for photography. In 1967, he joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times, where he did advertising production for the Promotions and Public Relations department. He worked for the Los Angeles Times for about 20 years before making a career change to commercial real estate development and property management, working first for his brother-in-law Robert K. Wong and later for S & D Associates.

Chong met Isobel Wong from Canada when she was in Southern California visiting her brother. They married in 1969 and their son Jonathan was born the next year. They settled in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, and soon their daughter Alison arrived. The family moved to Fullerton, California, in 1979, where Chong lived for the rest of his life. Chong and Isobel were active members of First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton and later the Chinese United Methodist Church of Orange County (which became Cornerstone United Methodist Church, now located in Placentia). Chong and Isobel also stayed connected with the local Chinese American community through organizations such as the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California and the Chinese Association of Orange County. In his later years Chong became the primary caregiver for Isobel, while still making time for his interests in photography, gardening, and cooking.

Chong was preceded in death by his wife Isobel, older brother Wing, and younger sister Bowen. He is survived by his brothers Gene and Mayne; his son Jonathan and daughter-in-law Audrey; his daughter Alison; and grandchildren Amanda, Matthew, and Barnabas. He is also survived by many cousins, nephews and nieces, and grandnephews and grandnieces.