“It is with a sense of deep sorrow and the sad recognition that a ‘Legend of Lakewood’ has left us, that I join my City Council colleagues and all of Lakewood in mourning the death of former City Manager Howard L. Chambers,” said Mayor Jeff Wood.
Chambers, age 76, passed away at his home in Brea on June 9 from cancer, with his family by his side. He had been battling the disease for several years, but his condition was considered incurable in February and he had been in hospice care at home since then.
Chambers was appointed Lakewood’s chief executive in June 1976 and retired in August 2017. With 41 years as Lakewood’s chief executive, Chambers holds the record as the longest serving city manager with any single city in California.
Among many awards during his career, Chambers was honored in 2017 by the League of California Cities with the Wes McClure Award of Distinction for outstanding career service, leadership, ethics, expertise and innovation as a city manager.
Chambers’ commitment to Lakewood included more than 40 years of volunteer service through the Rotary Club of Lakewood, the Lakewood Family YMCA, St. Timothy School, the American Heart Association, Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence, and the Lakewood Youth Hall of Fame.