Charles Wallace Tolman

In 1937 William moved with his family to Sacramento, but would move once again in 1939 to Stockton, California. After his parents divorced in 1952, Charles and his brothers Cary and Craig moved to Seattle with their mother. In 1953, Charles joined the US army and was sent to Germany in 1954 where he met his first wife, Gerlinde Albert in Kaiserslautern, and they married in 1956. Upon returning to the US in 1957, he and Gerlinde would move back to Seattle. He did well at Washington State University, graduating with a B.Sc. in 1959, and immediately proceeded to graduate school. On finishing the M.Sc. in 1960, he received a fellowship that would see him through completion of the Ph.D. in psychology, which he finished in 1962.

After short contracts in Idaho and South Dakota, Charles moved his family to Victoria BC, where he accepted a position at UVIC when it opened. This move further allowed him to be in the Northwest and close to his family in Seattle. From 1964-1997 he worked as a professor at the University of Victoria where he wrote extensively on critical and comparative psychology. For the majority of his tenure, he taught the History of Psychology, a mandatory course for anyone obtaining a degree in psychology.

He married Renate Eulig Huggins in 1976, and upon his retirement in 1997, she and Charles lived a fulfilling life of retirement in North Saanich. He had a passion for sailing and was an active member of the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club. In addition, his participation in SAGE was very grounding for him after his wife Renate passed in 2014. After 2014, he spent much of his time doing family history and local history in addition to producing several documentary films with his son Eric which are all available on YouTube.

Charles died peacefully at his home on March 8th, 2023, completely independent to the end. He will be remembered by his family, countless students, and many colleagues at UVIC over his 32-year tenure.

He is survived by his four children Richard, Jeannette (Jeff), Peter and Eric (Debra), his grandchildren Hannah, Robin, Madeline, Sadie and Daniel in addition to his extended family on Renate’s side including Albert , Elizabeth, Iain, Evan, Naomi and Andrew.