Charles & Jean Clinkenbeard

Charles "Charlie" Ray Clinkenbeard 93, died at home on December 15, 2018. Mae Jean Clinkenbeard, 92, died at home on December 23, 2018.
Theirs is a love story for the ages.
Charlie was born in Hammond, Indiana on August 10, 1925 and Jean was born in Alameda, California on May 3, 1926. As fate would have it, the two met when Charlie's family moved next door to Jean's in Alameda when they were in high school. Although it wasn't love at first sight – Jean thought Charlie's crew cut looked "funny" – it was a love that lasted a lifetime.
After graduating from Alameda High School, Charlie had his sights set on a career as a veterinarian. But it was 1944 and World War II was raging. Charlie decided to enlist and became an Army medic, serving in Europe. He occasionally mentioned that he helped liberate a concentration camp, but like many of the "greatest generation", he never wanted to talk much about his two years of service. Once he returned, life started anew. He and Jean, as she preferred to be called, were married on August 4, 1946. Later that year, Charlie enrolled at UC Berkeley where Jean had been attending classes. Jean worked for a brokerage firm in San Francisco, while Charlie completed the pre-vet studies. In 1948, Charlie was admitted to the 3rd class of the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. Charlie told Jean that they would be moving to a "dairy" and she thought that meant they would be living above an ice cream shop. However, it turned out Charlie's definition of a "dairy" and Jean's differed. The dairy they lived above was the kind where cows were milked and mooed at all hours of the day and night! Jean, ever the loyal soldier, made the best of it. She got a job working as a laboratory technician for the zoology department.
While in veterinary school, Charlie and Jean had their first child, Ken. After earning his DVM degree in 1954, and with the addition of a second child, Jill in tow, the Clinkenbeard clan headed to Willows, CA, where they opened their first veterinary clinic. Their third child, Scott, arrived soon after. As with everything in life, Jean and Charlie were a team. Charlie built his practice and Jean served as receptionist and answering service as well as caring for their children. In 1961, they saw the growth of Redding, CA and decided the opportunities there were better for growing their practice and their family. They soon opened the Hilltop Veterinary Hospital, where Jean eventually joined Charlie as the office manager. It was there that Charlie switched from primary food animal to pet animal practice, healing pets and serving their owners. He became so beloved by some of his clients that they named their pets after Dr. "C"!
While Jean and Charlie were building a family and a business, they had their 4th child Pam in 1962, and they also made time to enjoy activities that the natural beauty and topography in Redding offered. They were busy hiking, skiing, golfing and playing tennis, boating on the lakes, fishing in the Sacramento River and on the coast. They were also big supporters of the Redding community and were involved in many facets of life of this Northern California town that they loved. Jean was active in Cub Scouts, Blue Birds, swim team, PTA, AFS and PEO, a philanthropic educational organization. Charlie meanwhile helped lead the community by serving as a board member of the Mistletoe School Board, Catholic Social Services, and Riverview Country Club. He was also president of both the Willows and Redding Kiwanis Clubs and Redding East Rotary. He stayed active in the Redding East Rotary Club up to the time of his passing. In addition to having children and grandchildren who lived abroad as exchange students through Rotary International, they also helped expand the world-view of many students by hosting students from places as diverse as India, Paraguay, Spain and Switzerland.
Retirement came in 1988, but that just meant Jean and Charlie were about to get really busy! In addition to staying active in the community, they ramped up their international travel, visiting all but one of the continents the earth has to offer. Just like in their hometown, they made friends wherever they traveled, connections that enriched them and their community and lasted throughout their lives. They were still busy at home. Charlie took up woodturning and made beautiful bowls and art pieces that many family members and friends were lucky to get as gifts at Christmas time, birthdays and anniversaries. He also made wooden toys for his children when they were young and his grandchildren. He donated many pieces to the Turtle Bay Exploration Park shop. He was, of course, a member of the Shasta Woodworkers Club. Charlie also tended to an ever changing and growing garden that included citrus, fig, cherry and peach trees as well as myriad of vegetables. Jean would lovingly use the food Charlie grew to create beautiful cakes, pies and other desserts as well as using the vegetables in meals for years. They were also active in canning the extra fruit and veggies they grew and happily shared them with friends and neighbors.
They were compassionate, caring people with hearts as big as the universe. Charlie's sense of humor was always on display and Jean's steady hand always kept them organized. She ran a tidy kitchen and household where you were always treated like family. They were curious people who saw the world as a playground and a schoolhouse. Always having fun and learning and bringing new ideas to their lives and others. It was their passion for a life filled with family, friends and adventure that kept them active even as they reached their 90's. But after 93 and 92 years of living, and 72 1/2 years of marriage, they left this earth within 8 days of each other. They had checked all the boxes of life with gusto. With service to country and community, a vibrant family and a successful business and more friends than one can count, they left this planet a better place than they found it. When Charlie was in his late 80's he had to have an ultrasound to check on an irregular heartbeat. He said he was lying there watching the picture of his heart pumping and thought to himself, "I don't know any machine that has worked non-stop for 89 years. I have definitely gotten my money's worth!" While true, it was really all those who knew Jean and Charlie who "got their money's worth" by simply having them touch their lives.
Charlie was preceded in death by his parents Charles Ray, Sr., and Viola E. Clinkenbeard, brother Bailey Clinkenbeard and sister Mary L. Pardee. Jean was preceded in death by her parents Ed A and Thelma M Johnson and sister Marilyn Doswell. They are survived by Jean's sister Margie Bowels of Pleasanton, CA; their son Kenneth D. and wife Patricia A. Clinkenbeard of Stillwater, OK; daughter Jill S. Wyatt of Redding, CA; son Scott R. Clinkenbeard of Anchorage, AK; daughter Pamela K. Clinkenbeard and husband Alan S. Weiner of Portland, OR; six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 2, at the Riverview Country Club, from 2-4:00. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Riverfront Playhouse or Cascade Theater.
Please sign the guestbook at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/redding/