Charles E. Herron

Charles E. (Chuck) Herron, born in Southern California on May 24, 1938, passed away on January 25, 2025 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Chuck grew up in Manhattan Beach and attended Mira Costa high school. In his youth he spent lots of time in the waters off the beach where he surfed, swam, and played beach volleyball. He also devoted hours and days working fishing boats as a teenager, where he learned to love the sea.

Chuck attended El Camino college and later served in the Army Reserve. In 1963 he went to the Marshall Islands in Micronesia, where he worked as a photographer conducting research of the islands. Once he returned stateside in 1969, he moved to the Northern Virginia/Metro Washington, DC area, working first for the Department of Agriculture and later for National Geographic Society (NGS), where he was the Photographic Editor of Special Publications. He finished his career with World Magazine before retiring from NGS in 2001.

Surviving him is his daughter, Akiko Herron Elliott, who was born to his ex-wife, Masako Kubota. Jordyn May Hicks, his granddaughter, and Nicholas Haden and Matthew Hopkins, the grandsons of his life partner Barbra. Also surviving are Chuck's two nephews, sons of his sister Susan, Kent and Matt Bausman and their families.

In 1980 he met his life partner, Barbra Hickey, when they both began commuting on a bus line from Great Falls, VA to Washington, DC. They enjoyed a life together going fishing and sailing in the Chesapeake Bay with their dog, Molly. They loved traveling all around the world and going on many adventurous expeditions. Eventually in 2010, they found their retirement haven in Wilmington, NC.

In the fall of 2023, Chuck moved out to Phoenix, AZ to be closer to his daughter, Akiko and his son-in-law, Eddie. In the last 15 months, Chuck did not let his lung disease or wheelchair stop him from going on his own photography excursions all over the state of Arizona. He could talk for hours about all his travels and adventures in life. He loved putting together slide shows of his worldly trips which he shared at the retirement homes he resided in. He was very generous with his photographs & knowledge of how to do photography and gave them away to so many people as an expression of his gratitude.

No services will be held for Chuck, his wishes. His cremation took place on February 5, 2025. His only request is that his and Barbra's ashes be spread in the ocean, which his daughter Akiko plans to fulfill this year in loving memory of her dad, Charles E. Herron.

Rest in peace, Dad.