Charles X. Larrabee

Bellingham native Charles X. Larrabee 2nd died June 12, 2013 at his home in Durham, N.C. He was 90 years old. He had for 26 years been the public relations director at North Carolina's Research Triangle Institute, chronicling and promoting that state's renowned University-Triangle initiative that led to a new, advanced technology dimension for the state's economy. He retired in 1990. Larrabee was the son and grandson of men and women who for sixty years made unparalleled contributions to Bellingham's and Whatcom County's business, civic and cultural development. He was raised on the South Side, attended the Normal campus school K-8, Fairhaven High School and Dartmouth College. During World War 2 he served for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including overseas duty at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. He later held positions at the San Francisco Chronicle, Stanford Research Institute, Collier's magazine in New York and the United Fruit Company in Boston. Going back 100 years and more Larrabee family local philanthropies included Larrabee State Park, the YMCA building on N. Forrest Street, hundreds of acres plus capital costs for public schools, parks and libraries, as well as support to facilities for youth and the aged, and natural resource preservation investments. A definitive family history by Mr. Larrabee was published in 2003 as a fund-raiser for the Fairhaven High School Alimni Association, 876 South Hills Drive, Bellingham 98229. The 7600-foot Mt. Larrabee in the border region north of Mt. Baker is named for his father, Charles F. Larrabee 1895-1950. Named after his grandfather, Larrabee throughout his life was known as "X" for Xavier by family, friends, fellow workers and a steady stream of gagsters. His wife of 65 years, the former Margaret Dwelle, was a 1941 graduate of Bellingham High School. She died in 2008. The couple leaves seven children, seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.