Complications from diabetes take the life of Ed Masry

City Councilman Ed Masry The Conejo Valley lost a popular, outspoken and straightforward leader Monday night when former Thousand Oaks City Councilmember Edward L. Masry passed away.

After several surgeries and long hospital stays due to diabetes complications, Masry, 73, died at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center late Monday, just days after resigning from the Thousand Oaks City Council.

The rest of the world may have known him as the lawyer who hired Erin Brockovich and with her achieved a landmark environmental legal victory as portrayed in the

2000 film “Erin Brockovich,” starring Albert Finney and Julia Roberts. But he had achieved much more than being depicted in a blockbuster movie, said his son, Louis, at a community service awards event held in Masry’s honor in September.

Born in New Jersey in 1932, Masry moved to the San Fernando Valley as a child, riding his horse to school each day, according to Louis.

After graduating from Loyola Law School, Masry practiced law for 40 years, most recently as senior partner in the law firm of Masry and Vititoe in Westlake Village. As an attorney, he received many honors, including a United States Congressional Award for Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1982, 1988 and e of Ed Masry

1990 and Consumer Advocate of the Year in 1997.

“For over 40 years, Mr. Masry had been an unyielding advocate for many important cases including First Amendment freedoms and corporate environmental responsibility,” a statement issued by his law firm said. “Everyone who came in contact with Ed Masry was impacted by his tremendous spirit, gregarious nature and intense commitment to justice. We will miss him.”

Masry moved to Thousand Oaks in 1997 to escape the congestion of the Valley. In 2000 he was elected to the Thousand Oaks City Council, and when he was reelected in November 2004 with 32,000 votes, he became the top vote-getter in the city’s history.

As a council member, Masry supported law enforcement, environmental issues, local schools and small business owners and advocated for seniors and affordable housing. He was instrumental in saving Ahmanson Ranch from development.

“I would like to thank the residents of our wonderful city for allowing me to serve on their behalf,” Masry said in a statement issued upon his retirement announcement last week.

Masry worked on behalf of a number of philanthropic causes, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Lymphoma Research Foundation of America and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which named him their Humanitarian of the Year in 2000.

Masry was chairman and chief executive officer of Save the World, Inc., which is developing devices to reduce pollution emitted by motor vehicles. He served as chairman of the Fantasy Springs Indian Casino near Palm Springs.

“We are saddened by the loss of a wonderful husband, father and grandfather,” said a statement released by the Masry family. “But we also celebrate the tremendous life that he lived and the numerous contributions he made to the legal profession and to his community.”

Masry is survived by his wife, Joey, five children and 10 grandchildren.

The Masry family will hold a private memorial service on Tues., Dec. 13. A public memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Thurs., Jan. 5, in the Fred Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org or the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org.