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Memorial for Sam Chavez
Sunday, August 25th at 1:00 pm
Pleasant Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church
800 Grayson Rd, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Reception afterward, address will be provided at the Memorial.
Please forgive me, Brad, for sailing a little close to the "no religion" wind, but I didn't know that Sam was an Adventist. The first time I met him, at a Cinemacon a few years ago, he immediately guessed that I was from the "Location: Loma Linda" tag on my posts: but I presumed this to be because pretty much everyone in California knows that Loma Linda is an SDA epicenter, like Salt Lake City is for Mormons or Canterbury for Anglicans. I hope they have a great potluck after the service!
Samuel David Chavez, known affectionately as Sam, passed away on June 16, 2024, in Martinez, CA at the age of 79. Born on November 12, 1944, in Oakland, CA, Sam lived a life marked by devotion to his family and a distinguished career in the cinema technology field.
Sam graduated from Oakland Technical High School and pursued further education at Contra Costa College, earning an Associate's Degree in Electronics. His professional journey began in the 1960s as a Union Projectionist, followed by a short stint at RCA in 1978. Sam spent a significant part of his career at Dolby Laboratories before venturing into his own business as a Cinema Products Engineer. He was instrumental in building a legacy screening room in El Cerrito, CA, and was a familiar face at many film festivals and trade shows, including Telluride. His work took him around the world on various cinema projects, contributing significantly to the industry he loved. His career culminated in a lifetime achievement award from The International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA) in 2023.
A family man at heart, Sam cherished his yearly trips to New Mexico to visit relatives and hosted numerous gatherings at his home. Whether as a Father or Uncle or Friend, he was always there to lend a helping hand. He leaves behind a loving family including his daughter Gena Hassan, son Christopher Chavez, two grandchildren, Sam was preceded in death by his parents, Hermilo E. Chavez and Victoria (Perea) Chavez, his brother Orlando Chavez, and his sister Martha Baker.
Services to honor Sam's life will be held on August 25, 2024, at 1:00 PM at the Pleasant Hill Seventh-Day Adventist Church located at 800 Grayson Rd, Pleasant Hill. A reception at the Chavez house will follow. The Peralta and Valencia Cemetery in Sangre de Cristo, Las Cruces, New Mexico, will be his final resting place.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to , Planned Parenthood, or St. Anthony Foundation in memory of Samuel David Chavez. These organizations reflect causes he was passionate about, continuing his legacy of generosity and community support.
As Sam lived here in the SF Bay area, our paths crossed many times, both locally and at
various film festivals or events we both found ourselves working at over the years, and I
had the pleasure of attending several of the barbecues and screenings at his El Cerrito
location. Unfortunately, I, and several others who would like to attend the memorial will be
traveling to the Telluride Film Festival on that day, although rumor is that we will hold some
sort of party or ceremony in Sam's honor while we're all there.
For those in the SF Bay area, there is another memorial planned on Aug 14th
at The Orinda Theater. (another great old historic movie house) - Since both
The Orinda Theater, and venue I'm at are very near BART (subway) stations,
it will be an easy trip for me to run over there for a few hours & still get back
in time to do a couple of 35mm events here in SF that evening.
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