Charles Rattray was born on June 9, 1940, in Falls City, Oregon, just west of Monmouth, to parents Robert and Nancy. He passed away at his home in Sandy, Oregon on April 15, 2023.
Charles was the oldest surviving sibling and had an older stepbrother from his mother, Frank Teeter, and two younger siblings, Roberta and Robert. He took his primary education in Oakridge, Oregon, where he graduated high school in 1958. During high school, he said that he ran track some, but mostly worked to afford a car and enjoyed fishing and hunting around the beautiful mountains of Oakridge. He made a lot of memories in that little logging town and was happy to share them with anyone who would listen.
Chuck served in the U.S. Air Force and was trained as an airframe mechanic. After serving 4 years, he briefly worked at Freightliner and then Western Skyways before re-enlisting in the Air National Guard. He served full-time in the Oregon Air National Guard until 1994 when he retired with the rank of Senior Master Sergeant. During his time with the Guard, he was deployed to exotic locations like Columbia and Panama, as well as to Florida and Alaska, where he worked to make sure ground crews had all the supplies they needed, and the aircraft were fit for their exercises. In addition to his regular duties, he helped in several years setting up fences for the Portland Air Show as one of the crew of Air Guard volunteers. He participated in many aspects of base life, which gained him life-long friends and many stories to share. He was proud of his service to America. He had a second career working briefly for a specialty courier but went back to the Oregon Air National Guard and worked in the civil engineering department before fully retiring in 2002. Chuck and wife, Marlene, built their long-time home in the Boring area in 1972 and lived there until 2013 when they moved to Oregon City to share a home with his daughter, Anna’s family. After Anna passed away, they moved back to Sandy in 2017.
Chuck developed a love of the outdoors at a young age and carried that with him his entire life. He loved camping and fishing. He was a responsible and determined hunter of deer and elk and would usually go out to the same ridge in the far-northeastern corner of the state every year he could draw a tag. You could tell that he was really in his element out in the woods. Chuck also loved to fish and spent many hours tying his own flies and lures. He was a true student of the insect fauna at the lakes where he liked to fish. To make the most accurate representation of bugs in their different stages of life, he learned to have an entomologist’s eye for the subtle variations he would find in color, size and texture, and then translate that into a beautiful piece of art on a hook. He was always very creative like that. When he needed to solve a problem, he made a tool or improvised in some way to get the job done. He taught himself to play guitar and would spend time learning how to play his favorite country tunes. Though he couldn’t read music, he had a good singing voice and enjoyed singing at church. He was an active member of the local Latter-Day Saints ward and gladly took on any calling he was given. His genial nature and sense of humor drew people to him. He was a good motivator and leader. People came through for him, because they knew he lived his own life in service of others. He is now at peace with his daughter Anna and all the family that went before him. He should be remembered for the robust and active man that he was. A man who was an avid outdoorsman, a skilled handyman, an American hero, a devoted husband, and a loving father.
Chuck is survived by his wife Marlene, son Rogan, and 4 grandchildren, McKenna Rattray, Donovan Rattray, Araceli Ibarra, and Lizzeth Ibarra, all of Sandy, Oregon. His memorial service was held at the LDS Tickle Creek ward building on April 29. His ashes will be interred at a time and place TBD.