Former Times Editor Calvin Chick Dies at 81

Local journalist known to many as ‘Mr. Morgan Hill’ spent 39
years covering politics, education and everyday life in Morgan Hill
and surrounding areas
By Tony Burchyns Staff Writer

Morgan Hill – Calvin Wall Chick, a beloved local journalist known to many as “Mr. Morgan Hill,” who spent 39 years covering politics, education and everyday life at the Morgan Hill Times, died Aug. 15 at his home in Grants Pass, Ore. He was 81.

Chick, a hard-working and quiet man who often wore colorful suspenders, started his career in Morgan Hill in 1952. Before that, he worked for newspapers in Oklahoma and Texas. He retired in 1991.

“For many people, the Morgan Hill Times was Calvin Chick,” said longtime local journalist Walt Glines, currently director of circulation for South Valley Newspapers, which publishes the Gilroy Dispatch, the Hollister Freelance and the Morgan Hill Times. “Calvin did everything at the newspaper office, from writing headlines to writing stories to selling advertising. He was a grand gentleman who never had a bad word about anybody,” Glines said.

Glines, then the police reporter for the Gilroy Dispatch, teamed up with Chick for a dangerous assignment in the early 1970s when the Nuestra Familia gang sprung from the underground during a hit that left a former member dead. The reporters devoted a large amount of time covering the gang’s actions in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and the heavy coverage brought anonymous phone calls with death threats. 

“He was my hero because he got up every morning and did his job to the very best of his ability,” his wife said. “In a sense he acted like an unofficial watchdog just making sure that people were taken care of and things went right. He did it very quietly and anonymously.”

Over the years, Chick was recognized by several organizations for his contributions to the community. One of those organizations, the Morgan Hill Flower Lover’s Club, made Chick an honorary members. He gained the recognition in 1989 because of his support of the club’s activities, including an annual flower show.

While living in Morgan Hill for more than 40 years, he served on the Bishop’s Committee for St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, was an honorary member and officer for the American Legion Post 444 and served as president of the Morgan Hill-Burnett School District Board of Education. He also held honorary memberships at the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, the South Valley Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Flower Lovers Club and the Women’s Chamber of Commerce. 

In his retirement years he pursued his interests in woodworking, genealogy and stamp/coin collecting. He also attended the Unitarian Universalist Church in Grants Pass, Ore.

Among the awards received, Chick was most proud of being recognized by 4-H Clubs for his active support. He also won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for his front-page layout of the Morgan Hill Times.

Chick was born in Erick, Okla., in July 6, 1925. He graduated from Erick High School in Oklahoma in 1943 and joined the U.S. Army in 1944, serving as a medical technician. After military service, he attended Oklahoma State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising. Along the way, he met and married fellow student Jayne Mathews in 1948. 

During Chick’s journalism career, his wife worked as a home economics teacher at Hollister High School.

He is survived by his wife, Jayne, and daughter, Denee, of Grants Pass, Ore.; daughter Diane Brook of Sacramento, Calif.; son Dana Chick of Campbell; and brother Carl Chick of Oklahoma City, Okla.

The family will be having an open house from 1 to 5pm, Sunday, 241 Veronique Place, Grants Pass, Ore., 97527, to celebrate Chick’s life. If friends and readers would like to contact Chick’s family they can do so by sending cards to the above address. 

He was preceded in death by his son, David Lawrence Chick.