Charles R. Brown
Vancouver
There will be a service later for Charles R. Brown, who died in a
local care center Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004. He was 95.
Mr. Brown, a logger, was raised in Trout Lake, Wash.
He was a trucker and crane operator and retired from SDS Lumber Co.
Mr. Brown enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and woodworking.
He was born Dec. 3, 1908, in Trout Lake and lived in Vancouver the past
two years.
Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Nettie, at home; one daughter,
Nancy Brown of Vancouver; two sons, Ted of White Salmon and Aaron of
Vancouver; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Davies Cremation and Burial Services is in charge of arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 1311
N.W. 21st St., Portland, OR 97209.
The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., March 4, 2004, page __
CHARLES BROWN
Trout Lake native Charles R. Brown died on Feb. 25, 2004, in
Vancouver, where he lived the last two years. He was 95.
Mr. Brown was born Dec. 3, 1908, in Trout Lake. He was raised and
educated there, graduating from Trout Lake High School. He married Nettie
Henke on June 23, 1935.
He retired from SDS Lumber Co., for whom he logged, drove truck and was
a crane operator.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church in White Salmon and the
Trout Lake Grange.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and wood working.
Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Nettie, Vancouver; daughter, Nancy
Brown, Vancouver; Sons Ted Brown, White Salmon, and Aaron Brown, Vancouver;
four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at a later time in White Salmon.
Arrangements were by Davies Cremation and Burial Services.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.
The Columbian, Vancouver, WA., March 6, 2004, page C4
Includes portrait
FINAL SALUTE
He worked with wood, both large and small
By Margaret Ellis
Columbian staff writer
Nancy and Aaron Brown remember their dad in many ways, but mostly, they
remember that Charles Brown was busy.
“He was working from daylight to dark, every day,”
Arron, of Vancouver, said.
But his dad wasn't usually getting paid.
In Trout Lake, where he lived most of his life, “he was
a member of the Grange, the school board, he was (volunteer) fire chief,”
said Nancy, also of Vancouver.
Charles Brown died Feb. 25 of old age. He was 95. His
wife of 68 years, Nettie, survives him at their Vancouver home.
For much of his life, Brown was a logger, but he liked
to work with wood on a smaller scale.
He was also always making something. He liked to make
clocks from wood. Some were simple wall clocks with the mechanism attached
to the back. Other times he made more complicated grandfather clocks with
chimes.
Brown had a wood shop at his home, of course, but after
he retired, he and his wife Nettie went to Yuma, Ariz. He had another wood
shop there.
Often his projects were designed for others.
One project was an altar for his church in Trout Lake.
He didn't want the coins to jingle too much in the wooden collection plates,
so he affixed leather strips to quiet them, his daughter remembered.
When Charles and Nettie moved from Trout Lake to White
Salmon, they joined a new church.
“And it needed a lot of fixing,” his son said.
Aaron Brown wonders if it was these tasks that gave his
dad such a long and active life. “There was a project you’ve got to get up
and take care of every day.”
Brown love to hunt and fish. His photo album is full
of pictures of Aaron and another son, Ted Brown of White Salmon, holding up
fish almost as big as they are.
“We also always had venison and trout and steelhead.
That's pretty much what we lived on,” said Nancy Brown, who isn't so
enthusiastic about salmon anymore. “Seems like we had too much to me.”
He built his own first home in Trout Lake. It had a
full daylight basement with a fireplace and another fireplace on the first
floor.
He designed and built an elevator to carry firewood
from the basement to the first floor. He made it from spare parts.
Charles Brown loved reading Popular Mechanics magazine,
but he probably learned how to do most woodworking from his father. They
built other houses together.
“He just seemed to know how to do anything,” Nancy
said.
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Final Salute runs each Saturday and features a local resident chosen at random.
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© Jeffrey L. Elmer