Phillip Michael Chew

Phillip Michael Chew

September 4th 1963 - May 8th 2021 (age 57)

Phillip “Filipe” Michael Chew, 57, of Republic, PA, passed away on May 8th 2021 at UPMC Hospital in Pittsburgh, after a valiant battle with cancer.

Originally from Suva, the capital of the Fiji Islands, Phillip moved his family to Republic in mid-2019.

Born September 4th 1963 in Fiji, Phillip was the only son of entrepreneurial parents, the late Doreen (Yee) Chew and late Norman Chew.

Phillip is survived by his elder sister and only sibling Connie Chew of Suva, Fiji; and his wife, Tupou, and their three children: Noreen, Maria and Michael.

In Fiji, Phillip attended Fiji Chinese Primary School (renamed Yat Sen School) and Marist Brothers High School and held a post-graduate management certificate from Central Queensland University (Fiji International Campus).

He joined the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) and also worked in the civil service and the private sector, plus for a short while he was a business owner. Prior to moving to Republic, he worked with the Office of the Defence Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji.

In the early 1980s, he served his birth country in Lebanon with the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL) and in Sinai with the Multinational Force and Observers. Phillip has gifted his military medals to his daughter Maria, now with the U.S. Navy.

A true son of Fiji, and a Catholic, Phillip loved many things especially golf, rugby, kava and food; he was a good cook. He knew many people and was a good friend, but most of all, he loved his family. He was a devoted husband, extraordinary father and a loving son and brother.  

Phillip’s family received friends at the Kish-Fabry funeral Home, Inc., 19 Legion Street, Republic, PA.