(CNN) Jerry Maren, the last surviving munchkin from "The Wizard of Oz," died at 98 due to complications from congestive heart failure, according to his family.

Maren died in his sleep on May 24 at a private home care residence in La Jolla, California, where he had been in hospice care for six months. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burbank and is interred in the mausoleum at the Court of Remembrance.

Standing at 4 foot 3, he acted in over 100 movies and TV shows over the past seventy years, but he is perhaps best remembered for his role in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz."

Jerry Maren holds a lolipop at the unveiling of Judy Garland's wax figure at Madame Tussauds Hollywood.

"My uncle was a hardworking professional who led a very full life," Maren's nephew, Lloyd Decker, told CNN. "Being short never stopped him from doing anything."

Born Gerard Marenghi in Boston on January 24, 1920, he was the youngest of 11 children and took dancing and acting classes, his nephew said. Right after Maren graduated from high school, he met with a group of actors bound for California.