Charles, a native of Willow Obituary Lake, South Dakota, immigrated with his family to Southern California in 1934 when the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl made farming nearly impossible.

Charles earned his A.A. degree from Santa Monica Junior College in 1937 and enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in accounting.

However, he was not to finish his academic endeavors, as he joined the Army as a radioman in February, 1941. Thirteen months later, he enlisted with the Army Air Corps, later to become known as the Air Force. Charles served with distinction for nearly four years as a pilot and instructor, primarily in Yuma, Arizona. He taught hundreds of pilots to fly a wide variety of aircraft, including the P-39, P-40, P-63 and P-64 pursuit planes and the B- 17, B-24, B-25 and B-26 bombers. His Air Force career came to an abrupt end as he was forced to bail out of a P-39 Air Cobra when the engine failed, suffering a broken shoulder as he landed in the marshes of the Salton Sea. He received an honorable discharge with the rank of major.

Just a month earlier, he had married Aileen Wright, a young nurse from Canada whom he met on a blind date. After his discharge from the Air Force, he and his new bride lived first in Glendale, and then moved to La Cañada in 1949. Over the years, he was witness to many changes in the local community, including helping to clear the site of the present-day St. Bede Church in 1950.

Charles was never able to complete his undergraduate education, yet he passed the CPA exam in 1952 and then graduated from Loyola Law school in 1957. He worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 27 years, ending his career there as an associate chief of appeals of the Los Angeles Office. After retirement, he continued to practice in the taxation area, first as an attorney, then as a CPA.

Charles always valued his family, so much so that he declined several offers of promotions because it would necessitate him moving his family to other parts of the country; he felt that a stable home environment was very important.

He loved to tinker and to garden, as well as spending many hours enthusiastically golfing with longtime friends and with his son.

In 1986, his wife, Aileen, passed away. However, five years later, he met an energetic widow, Edith Foshay, whom he married in 1992. Their love for each other was continuously demonstrated as Edith cared for Charles throughout his long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Charles is survived by Edith, his son Gordon and his wife, Belinda, and five grandchildren, all of whom live in La Cañada Flintridge, as well as his sister, Edna Irene, who still resides in the home where she and Charles lived in the early 1940s. In addition, he leaves step-children Carol Kane, Bob Foshay and Cyndy Scinocca, 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.