Charles Randolph Auvil

March 2, 1937 – April 20, 2018

As granddaughter Amber noted on FB

“Grampa Randy Auvil went to be a star up there in heaven early Friday morning (April 20).”

His family will host a Remembrance of Life service from 2-5 p.m.

on Sunday, August 12, at the Chewelah Golf and Country Club.

He was diagnosed with Aspiration Pneumonia as a result of the Cervical Dystonia condition in his neck. After bravely dealing with this condition for the last decade (it impaired his vision, balance and swallowing/talking) it finally took its toll.

When he crossed over, he was greeted by his mother and father, brother and sister, two nephews and two sons-in-law and great grand baby Harper. Also, patiently waiting for him was his childhood pal black Lab, Nick and his precious Pookie Cat. There were many, many friends waiting in line, including golf buddies Gene, Phil & Jack and teaching/coaching colleagues Herm Pein and Bill Mather.

He left behind the gift of being a kind and gentle person, a loving and fun 'Gramps' (coined by Grandson Trevor), and a loving and devoted husband to Carol and rock to his family.”

He was a proud father and will be profoundly missed by his daughters and their families: Cindy & Terry Panagos, Catherine & Mike Schulte, and Christine. Gramps was an inspiration to his grandchildren: Amber & Garrett, Ty, Trevor & Stacy, Elza & Noraa, Jeannette & Primo & great granddaughters Sophia & Charlie, Jahmai, Amanda & Kjirk & great grandson Ryatt. He was admired and will be missed by brother-in-law Jim (Annette), and his caring nieces and nephews. Let's not forget all of his grand-dogs and grand-kittens!

He will be missed by Rob at Chewelah Auto Parts and all the shooting-the-bull crowd. They have been an essential part of his daily routine and Sundays and holidays were a resented disruption! Cal, lifetime friend and golf buddy, filled in as Randy's away-from-home care giver. Cal made sure that Randy continued to golf, visit the auto parts, and have an occasional red beer at the legion or The Brewery. His patience and dedication to Randy will forever be deeply appreciated. His Kiwanian family will miss his quips and comments as he scanned The Independent for names & news of a fellow Kiwanian. Friends at United Church of Christ will miss his kindness and humor.

He was a pleasant addition to his family on March 2, 1937. What a wonderful kid-hood he had living on the Entiat river, where he and Nick and childhood friends, swam, fished and ice-skated.

How he loved sports. His mother said he started playing basketball with a tiny rubber ball that fit perfectly through the kitchen towel rack. He attended all 12 years in the Entiat schools where he excelled in basketball and baseball in spite of living with a heart murmur. His doctor determined that “if he continued to pace up and down on the bench” he might as well play.

Carol appeared in his life from out of the blue. She and her mother were in a family transition mode and ended up connecting with past friends in Entiat in 1953. They were juniors in high school. There was a lot of flirting going on during that year and in their senior year, they became steadies. What a fun and memorable time they had. She was a cheerleader and he was a jock.

He decided to go to college as opposed to working in the local lumber mill. The draw was an offer to play baseball. He played second base and outfield at then Eastern Washington College of Education and because of the heart condition, he couldn't play college basketball. Coach Red Reese at that time designated him as JV Coach; Big Red and Little Red (both redheads). It's not a surprise that the trophies from his high school and college sports years were Most Inspirational Player. Courtship between the two redheads carried on until 1957 when they were married. What a journey that produced!

In 1959, he graduated from Eastern and the first of three beautiful red-haired daughters was born. Cindy was 3 months old when her Daddy was hired as Jr.. high teacher and coach in Chewelah. In 1961 brown-eyed, red-haired Catherine joined the family. A third red-haired baby (Christine) was welcomed in 1966. As a family of red-heads, we had our own parade.

In 1970 he felt he needed a new challenge. He was awarded a graduate assistant-ship at Eastern, and the family packed up and moved forever from Chewelah to Cheney. So much for that...he accepted a position as head teacher at Mary Walker in Springdale. He was there for 25 years and taught nearly every level from 5th grade through high school and served several years as elementary and high school principal. He always spoke fondly of his kids and the staffs at Jenkins & Mary Walker schools.

He was totally involved and dedicated to the creation of the Chewelah Golf and Country Club. It became his home away from home.

In 1996, retirement finally arrived. He kept busy golfing, taking care of his yard and enjoying every minute he could squeeze out of each day. He was always in good spirits despite the “bumps in the road” (his words) including several major surgeries and finally the last decade when the neck issue changed his life until the end. He never, ever quit...but, it slowed him down, and caused him to be more dependent on others. It “p...ed him off”!

He became a devoted Fantasy golf and football participant. When Gene, his Fantasy Golf partner, passed, son Steve gladly stepped in. (Thank you so much Steve.) Gene and Randy spent hours studying and preparing to make their picks. Come hell or high water, if one of them was hospitalized, as soon as coherency was apparent, they made their picks. He made his final pick with Steve on April 18, Wednesday; the evening he was hospitalized.

On April 20, Friday, 2018, he took one last swing and then faded away peacefully as his loving family let him go.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass.

It's about learning to dance in the rain.”