In Memorial:
Charles Archie Witt

June 25th, 1941 -- March 10th, 2021

Greetings Friends and Family,

My father, Charles Witt, passed away on March 10th, 2021 at 9:30pm. One of his favorite activies was sitting around telling stories and playing cards. On this page, I hope to honor his wishes to collect stories about him and share those with friends and family that miss him. Directly below you'll find the official obituary, a place to read his stories, and pictures from my collection and those sent from other friends and family. At the end of each section is a link/button to share your own experiences and photos. This link will take you to a google form to share your stories/photos.

I am the executor of his estate and have been managing his affairs for the last three months. If you need to contact me for personal or business matters, please feel free to reach out here or on Facebook.

Blessings to each of you and thank you in advance for sharing.

Jacob Witt

Obituary

Charles Archie Witt, June 25th, 1941 -- March 10th, 2021

On March 10th, 2021, Charles Archie Witt of Montesano, WA passed away at age 79 in Elma, WA at home with his son Jacob and his close friend Arv Whipple after a short, intense battle with cancer.

Charles was born on June 25th, 1941 in Oregon City, OR to Walter and Eleene (Jones) Witt. After his Junior year at West Linn High School, he began taking trade classes at Multnomah College in Portland and graduated with the West Linn class of 1959. He spent several years in Southern California before moving to Washington and joining the Laborers’ Union in 1965 and eventually becoming the business manager of Local 374 in Aberdeen, WA for the remainder of his career spanning over 50 years in the same union, same local. Charles was an avid hunter, fisherman, conservationist, card player, and classic car enthusiast. He was most known for his quick wit, humor, and commitment to fair labor practices. One of his best friends, Darrel Billerbeck used to say, “There are no flies on Charley Witt.”

Charles was preceded in death by his first son, Charlie, his father, Walter, and his mother, Eleene. He is survived by his children, Chandra and Jacob, four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many friends and family who will greatly miss him.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 10th, 2021 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles (404 W. Young Street, Elma, WA 98541) from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Tributes and photos can be shared at www.doctorwitt.com/memorial

Chuck Witt Stories

Included are a selection of stories as told by Chuck Wiitt's friends and family. If you'd like to share your own story or photos, please click the button on any page.

You're not my Mother

LeeOnna Clark Faltinson (Cousin)

When he got cancer the first time and was going through all his stuff. I was talking to him on the phone and I was telling him to make sure and do what the doctor said and I'm sure other things. He said to me real serious You can't tell me that, your not my mother. I just started laughing. Another time Charley had called and talked to my dad, then he called me. So I was asking Charley how he thought my dad was doing? He said he sounded okay and I said so he didn't complain. He said well he always complains. Then he told me Hang in there kid. I only connected with him the last 10 years, so I really enjoyed talking to him and getting to know him. He kept in touch with my mom over the years. His mom and my mom were sisters.

My First Elk

by Jacob Witt (son)

When I was about 14, I bagged my first elk with a .50c Thompson Center muzzleloader. We had a hunting party of about six and we came upon a large herd of elk. As we all took aim and shot, two went down in sight and two ran with the herd into the woods. We located one elk about an hour or two later and then continued to try and pick up the trail of the one I hit. We looked for another two hours, but as dusk set in and rain began to fall, everyone was tired from processing the other three and wanted to call off the search. I knew I hit it and that we’d never find it the next day, so I pled with my dad to keep looking and he relented. Less than 30 minutes later, I began looking on the underside of the brush and picked up the trail again. As we crested a small hill, we found my elk. By the time we finished packing out the elk, it was pitch black and everyone was too tired to even eat before bed, but I’m not sure I’ve seen my dad prouder of me in my life. He told this story 30 years later with pride.

Cribbage

by Jacob Witt (son)

As soon as I could count, I played cribbage with my dad. We’ve played thousands of games over the years and it was the first adult card game I taught my kids. When my son was about 7, I finally let him play grandpa at cribbage. Elliot held his own and after several games he bested Grandpa Chuck. I’m not sure who was the proudest: me at seeing Elliot play so well, Elliot at beating the legendary Grandpa Chuck, or my dad at seeing the legacy passed down to another generation. Elliot brought a cribbage board and a deck of cards every time we were going anywhere near Grandpa’s place. Little does he know, I’ve found at least one cribbage board in every vehicle Grandpa owns and at least 10 boards at his place. Neither of them wanted to miss a game.

Idaho Girls

by Autumn Witt (Daughter-in-law)

Chuck loved introducing me (Idaho girl) to seafood & ocean adventures. His home canned pickled salmon was amazing and I had razor clams for the first time at the Beehive. Once, while Jacob & I were just dating, Chuck took us Salmon fishing. We had to meet him at a diner in Westport at 4 am to get on the boat and head out on the water. While we were just heading out to our fishing spot, it was beautiful, but then the boat started pitching up and down and soon I was totally sea-sick, losing it over the rails. He kept checking on me, making sure I was OK, talking me through keeping my eye on the horizon, and eventually I was able to hold my rod long enough to reel in a salmon and it ended up being the second largest catch of the day. He got a kick out of that.

Meeting & Eating