Charles Colfax Harshberger was born on January 28, 1926, the only child of Frances Christine Garrett Harshberger and Charles Wilson Harshberger. He attended public schools in Portland, Oregon, graduating from Franklin High School in June 1943. Boy Scouts of America activities were an important part of his life, rising to the rank of Life Scout.
In December 1943 he enlisted in the United States Navy V-12 program and then moved to the University of Washington in March 1944 when the V-12 program started. He pursued a major in electrical engineering and naval science concurrently with the goal of being commissioned as an ensign, receiving his commission in June 1946. He chose to go into active duty, even though World War II had ended, and sailed on the destroyer USS Eversole DD 789 in November 1946. Chuck’s tour of duty included sailing across the Pacific and into ports in China and Japan, which he described as a “coming-of-age experience” as he was confronted with the stark realities of war-ravaged Asia. He returned home in May 1947 with an honorable discharge as Combat Information Center, Radio Material Officer.
He resumed his studies at the University of Washington, completing his electrical engineering major and graduating in June 1949 with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering. While back on campus and, as a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, he met Ruth Anne Ruhl at a fraternity/sorority mixer. They were engaged to be married in July 1948 and married in August 1949. Their marriage was by far the most important part of his life - steadfast partners, lovers, and sympatico companions to each other all the rest of their lives. They had three children together.
Chuck or “CC” made his living with his engineering skills, working for Square D Electric, Western Gear, and then himself, helping design, adapt, and sell components for heavy machinery in a variety of industries (pulp and paper, trucking, manufacturing, mining), including the gear that turns the Space Needle. He traveled extensively to accomplish this, away from home (Seattle, Portland, Edmonds, and West Seattle) at least once a month for over 40 years, retiring in 1994. He and Ruth Anne moved to Brittany Park, a retirement community in Woodinville, Washington, in 2009.
Highlights in his life: property investments at Ocean Shores, Washington, including the building of a vacation home and serving as Community Club president; training for and earning his pilot’s license; joining the Washington Athletic Club and participating in weekly handball sessions; leisure travel to many parts of the world; yearly stag salmon fishing trips to British Columbia; and investing in and vacationing at the Mokihana of Kauai for 40 years.
Throughout his life he made friends and acquaintances and kept these people in close and lifelong relationships by including them, as well as his children, in his activities. He was intelligent, honest, methodical, organized, reliable, caring, a good listener, truly interested in others and the world, had a dry sense of humor, and was ready to turn any event into a celebration.
Chuck was felled by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which was diagnosed in January 2021. He is survived by his three children, Lynn Harshberger Hicks, Susan Harshberger Free, and Lee Harshberger; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. His beloved wife, Ruth Anne, died five days after his death.
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