Charles "Chuck" Raymond Larson

Charles was the only child of Charles N. Larson and Mary Jane (Miller) Larson. He was born on July 15, 1947 in Seattle, Washington and raised in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. He was named after his father and paternal grandfather, Charles Larson, and his maternal grandfather, Raymond C. Miller. In childhood he went by Chucky and in later years Chuck. He was always an inquisitive and curious child who loved to read, collect stamps, and experiment with audio visual equipment. He was an excellent student, graduating from Ballard High School in 1965 with honors.

His first job was as a paper boy and he later worked as a boxboy at the local A&P supermarket throughout high school. During his college career at the University of Washington, Chuck studied Communications and graduated in 1969. Chuck worked summers during college in the company store of the very small town of Naknek in Bristol Bay, Alaska for the Nelbro Pkg Co.

After graduation, Chuck entered the US Navy and served on active duty from 1969-1972 in Oahu and Midway Island. His college degree came in handy as his specialty was communications. He enjoyed the solitude of remote Midway Island and particularly liked watching the birdlife. Chuck returned to Seattle after his service and worked as studio production supervisor at KCTS Channel 9 from 1972-1974.

At the same time, Chuck decided to pursue another degree at the UW, this time in English. This is where he met his future wife Wendy Vogel. From the time of their chance meeting in McMahon Hall there was a romantic spark. They married in 1973 and remained in love throughout their long and committed marriage of 46 years. They complimented each other and spent most of their spare moments together.

A defining part of Chuck’s life was his long time friendships. He and his group of three other friends were extremely close and totally loyal to each other. They spent many moments together beginning in elementary school. Over the years they worked high school jobs and jobs in Alaska together. They spent time together on double dates and at school dances, weddings, and funerals.

After working in research medical equipment sales at VWR Scientific from 1974-1978, Chuck spent his career in the credit union management business. He started working at the Seattle Credit Union Center in 1978 and believed strongly in the credit union movement. This small family business had been started by Wendy’s parents with the mission of providing small credit unions with management that would otherwise be unaffordable. Chuck worked many jobs during his career there including manager of the Eastside branch. His favorite position was as head of the marketing department. This is where he was able to utilize his literary and creative abilities allowing him to really shine. He retired in 2009 and enjoyed family life thereafter.

Chuck was involved with his community and served as his neighborhood’s community club president from 1983-1985. He later served as a Cub Scouts scoutmaster from 1986-1988. He and his family enjoyed camping at Lake Chelan State Park with many of their neighbors from the mid 80’s to the early 90’s. Later they spent almost three decades vacationing in a condo across the lake.

As always, Chuck was incredibly generous and frequently helped with childcare needs. He was able to think like a child and loved spending time with his three grandchildren.

Chuck described himself as a hopeless romantic and idealist. He had a hunger to feel emotion and thought there was nothing worse than to feel dead inside. His greatest strength was compassion and he loved to make people feel good. It was important for him to stick up for those who needed it. Chuck defined success as using his humor, passion, and creativity to make things happen for the good of those he loved. He believed that the tragedy in life is not so much what happens to us, but how much we miss. He believed that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference and his motto was to expect nothing. The loss of Chuck is immeasurable to those who knew and loved him.

Chuck is survived by wife Wendy, son Andrew (Kendrah) grandsons Charlie & James, daughter Shelby Burris (Les) and granddaughter Leia.

Chuck supported Pup Dog Rescue where his beloved dog William is from. If you feel inclined, remembrances may be in his name to this wonderful program or a charity of your choosing. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.pupdogrescue.org/donate-in-honor.html__;!!M2D_dUfSiN4E!dYCbkou0gPGfH6xQTF840fnM8ZljCfbdQZXsaoUcGqyYoHx2c1IuwqgtQoHspyPLnnGkPDlI$ [pupdogrescue[.]org]