Obituary of Charles William Carrell
Charles William "Chuck" Carrell of Oregon City passed away Feb 20, surrounded by his family. He was 86.
Chuck , also known as "Charlie", was a strong, quiet man, well-known by his neighbors and friends as always willing to lend a helping hand, especially from his well-equipped shop, where he built aluminum boats and trailers, repaired vehicles and small engines, created metal sculptures and helped with myriads of other projects.
Chuck was born Nov. 15,1934, in Grand Junction, Colorado, working as a young man in Montana oil field before moving to Tillamook, then to Portland. In 1953 he married Dawn Jean Peterson in Portland.
Facing the draft, Chuck instead volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1954.
He served in post-war Korea for 17 months as a heavy equipment operator before separating from active duty with National Defense Service and Good Conduct medals.
After his separation, the couple lived in Portland, where Chuck worked briefly for the U.S. Post Office, then began teaching heavy equipment techniques to construction crews.
From there,he went to work in a meat-packing plant in Clackamas. In 1961,that led to a career as a meat grader for the federal FDA. He retired in 1993.
After retirement, even during his working years, Chuck loved to fish. Especially for salmon. He made several trips to Alaska to help a friend build a cabin on one of the world's premier salmon watersheds, the Nushagak River. Of course, it wasn't an official fishing trip, but Chuck just happened to get a few (or more) days with a rod in hand instead of a hammer.
Among all his shop projects, Chuck also loved to cut firewood. To this day and on the day of his passing, friendly smoke curled skyward from his woodstove.
Chuck has been cremated and a private internment and military ceremony will be held for the family at Willamette National Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held later, when restrictions from Covid pandemic are lifted.
Chuck is survived by his wife and three daughters, Mikki Proffitt of Estacada, Sandi Franklin of Kona, Hawaii, and Cindi Carrell of Seattle, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, those who remember Chuck can donate to their favorite charities.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Charles Carrell, please visit Tribute Store
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