Charles Raymond Faulders

Charles (Chuck) Faulders, age 85, passed away after a long illness on June 20, 2012.

He was born in Spokane, Wash., from age two he grew up in Berekely.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Rita, and his five children, Peter of Oxnard, Brian (Maria) , of Linkoping, Sweden, Theodore, of Oxnard, Thomas (Anna) of Berkeley, Mary Elizabeth Clark (Timothy) of Waltham, Vt., and grandchildren: Julius, Saga, Celeste, Elsa Faulders, Benjamin and Claire Clark, and many nieces and nephews.

Chuck attended Berkeley H.S. where he excelled in his studies, the swim team, played first clarinet in the orchestra, and was president of his senior class.

After graduating at age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy V-12 program. In 1945, he was given a medical discharge after several months at Naval Hospital Mare Island, Vallejo, Calif. Returning to his mother;s home across the street from Sather Gate, he finished his mechanical engineering studies at UCBerkeley, earning memberships in Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, in 1948.

At M.I.T in Boston, he completed his M.S., M.E., and Sc.D. degrees, while working on projects for G.E. designing steam turbines. A class in Aerodynamics inspired him to look to the challenges of flight control.

After marriage with Rita in 1945, he began what became a thirty-six year career at North American Aviation in Downey. His initial project was on the design team of a Cold War, unmanned cruise missile.

In 1960, Chuck took a leave of absence to accept a position as Professeur Asssocie at the Universite d'Aix-en-Provence. He, Rita, and two sons ages, one and three, lived in La Ciotat near Marseille, the location of the science labs, where he taught classes in Astro-Physics-in French.

In 1962, they returned home to Fullerton, with another two sons (twins). Back at Northern American, Chuck joined a team of twenty-five engineering specialists in the newly formed Flight Sciences Lab set up to investigate the possibilities of aerospace vehicles. He participated in the Gemini, Apollo, Paraglider, and Shuttle programs.

In 1976, Chuck transferred to Atomics International Division in Canoga Park, becoming involved with coal gasification and energy systems. The family moved to Camarillo in 1977. At ETEC at Santa Susanna, his last position was the DOE representative for a company mining gas wells in the Imperial Valley. He always felt fortunate to have had a wide variety of engineering positions within one company.

Chuck enjoyed skiing and their sports events with his children, family travels, and his office half-hour lunch break supersonic bridge games. With home and family the center of his life he tackled every house and garden project.

After retirement in 1990, he enjoyed eight years as docent/tour guide at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. For many years he was a faithful usher at 10:00 Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Church. Anyone who knew Chuck could tell you of his deep faith in God, his friendly nature, modesty, and sense of humor.

Special thanks go to Mali and Ray Nakhai, their caregivers, and to the staff of Buena Vista Hospice Care. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2532 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, or charity of your choice. Prayer and sharing Vigil Aug. 8 from 3-6 p.m. with Vigil at 3:30 p.m., Griffin Family Funeral Chapels, 1075 E. Daily Dr., Camarillo. Funeral Mass Aug. 9, 11 a.m., ST. Mary Magdalen Church, Las Posas and Crestview, Camarillo.

Arrangements are under the direction of Griffin Family Funeral Chapels, Camarillo Ph.# (805)482-1166