Obituary of Charles Warrren

Charles L. Warren, age 83, died at his home in Bellingham on March 17, 2019.

He was born at home, to Littie Warren and Ina (Burns) Warren in Alderson, West Virginia on January 12, 1936. He was the youngest of seven children.

Chuck served in the U.S. Navy from 1954–1958 at the Jacksonville Florida Navy Hospital and in Okinawa, Japan, as a medical corpsman with the 3rd Marine Division.

After his military service, he moved to the west coast to pursue an education, and graduated in 1964 from the University of Washington with a B.S. degree in psychology.

Chuck married Gail Byers August 21, 1964. He is survived by his wife, Gail, and their daughters, Mary Margaret Warren of Daniels, WV and Julie Warren DeFoer of Bellingham, WA; his sister Mary Stevenson, his brother James Warren, and many nieces and nephews.

He was employed by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, at the Seattle plant, where he served as the Superintendent of Labor Relations until its closure in 1983.

After leaving Bethlehem Steel, Chuck opened a restaurant called the Lunch Box in Burien, WA in 1985. In 1994, after selling his restaurant, Chuck sourced the beans and vegetables to turn his popular soup recipes into a dried soup mix—which he sold at Northwest grocery stores under the name Seattle Soup Company.

After several trips to Europe, Chuck retired in 2000 at which time he and Gail spent six months living on the island of Paros in the south Aegean Sea. They moved to Bellingham to retire in 2001. Chuck was a member of First Congregational Church of Bellingham, United Church of Christ.

Early in life he enjoyed carpentry work for summer jobs, and would later build a cabin for his family, in Index, WA on the north fork of the Skykomish River, with help from his dear friend John Lievero. He was thrilled by the history, scenic beauty and antiquities of ancient Greece and traveled there four times. He faced illness in life with astonishing grace, acceptance and bravery. Chuck was patient, thoughtful, kind and very funny. He loved his wife and children deeply, gave generously of his time and talents, and touched many lives with his kindness and gentle spirit.