Charlene Chambers

1945 - 2025

Charlene "Shorty" Chambers passed away October 12, 2025, following a lengthy hospital stay in Salt Lake City. Shorty owned and operated the Chambers Motel in Mountain City, Nev., for many years. She was born in 1945, in Boise, Idaho, and lived most of her life in Mountain City. She married Lee Chambers in 1965, giving birth to Kenneth in 1966 and Raymond in 1969. Both unions led to grandchildren and great-grandchildren, which she adored. Her marriage ended in 1983. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles "Chuck" and Maxine Read and by her younger sister, Norma Jean Read. Shorty's sister, Carol and husband Jerry Davis, reside in Jerome, Idaho.

Shorty worked in the family's Golden Rule Store from her teen years until it closed in 2005. In addition to operating her motel, she was always involved in community affairs, traveling to Elko for a number of years to serve on the hospital board and was a long time member of Mountain City Town Board. She was widely known by her motel customers, including returning fishermen, hunters, and mining related employees. For many years Shorty partnered with Gerald "Butch" Durrett, who assisted with repair and remodeling in the hotel operation and with neighbors' needs in the small close community.

Shorty will be interred in the Canyon Hill Cemetery in Caldwell, Idaho, near her late parents. A memorial gathering will be held at 1 p.m., Friday October 24th at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in Elko, Nev.