Sally Charles

Sally Sim Charles Died peacefully on February 26, 2010, at her home in Hillsborough , California. She was 85. Born August 4, 1924, Sally was the daughter of Ethyl O'Reilly and Kenneth Hamilton Sim, as well as the niece of Angela O'Reilly and Harold E. "King" Casey. She grew up on the Peninsula, attended high school at both Notre Dame and Burlingame, and later enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, where she pledged Delta Gamma, earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English Literature, and met her husband, Stanley Peter Charles, Jr. at the Sigma Nu House on Bancroft Avenue. They married March 13, 1948, remaining together for 44 years. Sally and Stan settled in Burlingame on Elm Avenue and later moved to Hillsborough, managing the H.E. Casey Company, a San Mateo construction firm started in 1906. While raising her four children, Sally remained an active volunteer for the diocese of St. Catherine's, the Junior League, Children's Hospital Auxiliary, and later the Hillsborough Garden Club. Over the years, she gained a reputation for her boundless hospitality, friends and neighbors gathering at her home to play ping pong and barbecue, and in the Sixties, to discuss politics and literature. Those who knew her loved her, and her devotion to her children, lifelong friends, grandchildren, and caregivers will continue as her most memorable legacy. For a number of years, Sally also co-owned and managed a retail store on Burlingame Avenue called King Charles. As an active member of the Burlingame Country Club, she pursued her life-long interests in bridge and tennis. After her beloved husband Stan died in 1992, Sally managed the family business, and continued to cultivate her many deep and lasting friendships. Sally is survived by her four children-Stanley Peter Charles, III of Truckee; Susan Charles Collins of San Francisco; Christopher Casey Charles of Missoula, Montana; and Kathleen Charles of Washington, D.C.-as well her beloved grandchildren, Stanley Peter Charles, IV., Jennifer Anne Charles, Walter Kittredge Collins, II., Casey Zabala Collins and the late Cody Cole Charles. Her devoted caregivers, Sulia ("Lia") Finau, Akosita ("Sita") Moore and Gabina Garcia, also survive her. A memorial service will take place at 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 13, 2010, at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Burlingame.