Charles Thayer French

He attended Sullivan High School and went on to attend Beloit College and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1951. There he was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity and graduated with a B. S. in Marketing.

Charles was called into active duty with the U.S. Navy and commissioned as a Lieutenant J.G aboard the U.S.S. Bairoko in the Yellow Sea during the Korean War. Later based out of San Diego, he quickly fell in love with California and once out of the Navy, settled in Los Angeles.

In 1960, he met and two months later, wed Dorothy (Wendy) Nenning.

They resided in Monterey Park, CA for 9 years. Children soon followed – Brian in 1962, Valerie in 1966, and Jacqueline in 1967. He worked as a salesman and spent 24 years with IHS (Information Handling Services). Over the course of the next several decades, they resided in Tustin, CA, Denver, CO, and Mission Viejo, CA.

Charles is remembered for his love of Big Band music, watching movies, learning new technologies and collecting naval covers. He was a master of memorabilia. Throughout his life he was known for his happy disposition, love of collecting and big smile! He passed away August 22, 2016, at home, surrounded by his wife and two daughters. He was 86 years old. Charles is survived by his wife, Dorothy (Wendy) French, brother, Jack French, children Brian French, Valerie French Colacchia and Jacqueline French Kleinhammes, sons-in-law, Frank Kleinhammes and Anthony Colacchia and six grandchildren, Tess, Devon and Max Kleinhammes, Christopher, Shawn and Scott Colacchia.

His memorial service will be on Saturday, September 17th at 11 a.m.at Fairhaven Memorial Services, 27856 Center Drive, Mission Viejo, CA 92692.