Charles Edward Church

August 18, 1924 - August 8, 2015

Longtime Port Angeles resident and community leader Charles E. "Chuck" Church passed peacefully at his home of 60 years on August 8, 2015, days short of his 91st birthday.

Mr. Church was born in McClure, Virginia, but grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee.

He graduated from high school in 1943 and joined the Navy Air Corps. He served through the end of World War II, flying as a tail-gunner off the aircraft carrier USS Lunga Point in the South Pacific.

He was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

He met his wife of 60 years, Betty Jean Goin, when his ship was being repaired in Bremerton, Washington, at the end of the war. They were married and made Port Angeles their home, where they raised three sons.

Mr. Church went to work for First National Bank in Port Angeles (later Seattle First National Bank) as a cashier and remained there for 40 years before retiring as vice president.

He spent the majority of his career as a loan officer, working with hundreds of local business owners and individuals, helping them to secure financing and providing friendly words of advice.

Chuck was also very active in the community. He served in the American Legion in many capacities and the annual Junior Salmon Derby, and was on the Clallam County Draft Board.

He also worked raising money for the Olympic Memorial Hospital Foundation.

He was a Cub Scout leader, a Little League coach, the treasurer of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and the driving force behind bringing the Harlem Globetrotters with Cab Calloway to Port Angeles in the early 1960s.

Chuck was an avid golfer and longtime member of the Peninsula Golf Club.

As a devoted sports enthusiast, he was well-known among family and friends as Mr. Husky Football. He attended every Husky home football game for nearly 50 years and was still a season ticketholder.

Mr. Church was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Jean, in 2006 and his youngest son, Samuel Clinton, in 2010.

He is survived by his two sons, Robert (Linda) of Woodinville, Washington, and David (Pamela) of Port Angeles; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

His life will be celebrated in a memorial service on Saturday, October 3, 2015, at 1 p.m. at Harper-Ridgeview Funeral Chapel, 105 West Fourth Street, Port Angeles, followed by a reception at the Peninsula Golf Club, 824 South Lindberg Road, Port Angeles.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be directed to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, 540 East Eighth Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362.