Charles Grant Jenkins of Portland Oregon died in the early morning hours of July 9th 2016 at Saint Vincents Hospital from complications of congestive heart failure. He was 74.

He is survived by his wife of 39 years Evangeline, his daughters Catherine Woods and Christine Coyne, his son Charles Jenkins, his grandsons Nicholas Jenkins, John and David Naze, his granddaughters Juniper Jenkins and Elizabeth Naze and his nephew and nieces Michelle, Michael and Kimberly.

He is predeceased by his father William, mother Mary, Aunt Catherine Wallace and brothers Robert and Raymond Jenkins.

Charles was born June 24th 1942 in Pittsburg, PA. He was the youngest of six boys; two full siblings and three half siblings from his father’s prior marriage. When he was five the family relocated to Azusa, California where he attended Paramount school and Azusa High. After graduating in 1960 he married his high school sweetheart Lynn M. Jenkins.

In 1961 they had their first child, Catherine. Charles was 19 and Lynn was 17. Four years later in 1965 they had Christine and in 1968 their son Charles Graham (known as Charlie).

When Charles was a sixth grader he loved school so much that he made up his mind to become a sixth grade teacher when he grew up. Although the climb he stubbornly persevered working several jobs (often concurrently) in order to support his family but always with an eye to his ultimate goal: a college education.

He was the father of three small children when he was admitted to Southern Oregon State College in the late 1960’s. The family moved to Ashland where the school was located and Charles worked and went to school full-time while his wife cared for the children. No job was too menial. During this time they were extremely poor and received supplemental USDA food but Charles never gave up and earned his Bachelors degree and teaching credentials in 1970.

He and his family moved to the corner of 7th and B street in Lake Oswego when he was hired by the school district and began a teaching career spanning more than 20 years: from 1971 to 1997. He had met the goal he had set so long ago; he was a 6th grade teacher and he loved teaching so much that he often said “It’s like I never really worked.”

He and Lynn divorced in 1975 and in 1977 he married Eva. The children were at the wedding and were amazed by the old school tradition of the money tree.

He spent the next 20 years being busy. He was still a young man with boundless energy. He was active in the Lake Oswego teachers union (LOEA) serving as President twice and negotiating a contract that granted teachers increased dignity and independence as well as a great dental plan. He earned his Masters in teaching from Lewis and Clark College in 1979. He and Eva lived in Portland and in his spare time (and during summer break) he worked at the Rocky Butte jail assisting prisoners with GED preparation as well as for the Census bureau interviewing the poorest of the poor.

He taught his children several useful skills they posses to this day: how to build a campfire, replace window sash cords, set a fence post, light a gas stove, discuss literature, pitch a tent, replace a set screw, paint a wall, replace a toilet, drive a stick shift and shoot a rifle.

Charles, a life long enthusiast of new experiences learned how to sail and bought a bigger boat every year. He took a class on bungalows so that he could renovate them before selling them. He took his children on camping trips, built cabins and spent time with his family who had moved to Hillsboro and had a small farm. They all feasted on home grown beef and Mary’s mashed potatoes over the holidays and barbeque and potato salad during the summers.

During the school year Charles rattled the cages of Lake Oswego school administrators just for fun. He and Eva cranked out a scandalous newsletter called The Wizard of Marv gently mocking the then Superintendent. In 1992 he and Eva took a sabbatical. They moved to Jalisco, Mexico and taught in Guadalajara for two school years until 1994. They returned to Lake Oswego where he continued teaching until he retired as a sixth grade teacher in 1997.

The following years were difficult. His brother Robert died first, from complications of a perforated ulcer. His brother Raymond, who suffered from congestive heart failure died a few years later. His aunt Catherine died next from complications of advanced dementia. After his aunt died, he and Eva took his mother Mary to Arizona with them. She resided in a very fancy assisted living facility where she was the pampered Queen until she died at over 100 years old.

From early 2000 to 2016 he travelled everywhere with Eva and their cat, Hobie in an increasingly deluxe series of RV’s culminating in the Safari, a vehicle sporting a custom portrait of Hobie in amongst the other fierce jungle felines. In fact he was the President of the Green Valley RoadRunners RV club and was featured along with Eva in the Green Valley newspaper.

But Charles always had a home base (or two or three) to return to when he was tired of the traveling life. He and Eva spent time enjoying each other and their life together, making and maintaining friendships, supporting the children through some serious emotional and financial hardships and coming to grips with the losses middle age can bring.

In 2010 he was diagnosed with heart disease that eventually lead to congestive heart failure. He was stabilized on medications for about three years but in 2013 he began to struggle to keep his spirits up in the face of the gradually worsening CHF that finally took his life. He had other health issues as well and by 2015 was sick and tired of being restricted and controlled by appointments, tests and medications. The last six months were very difficult for him but he never complained. It was always his nature to keep up a cheerful front. Eva always encouraged him trying to stay optimistic even as Charles began to finally realize he was nearing the end.

On July 7th two days before he died, the weather on the Long Beach Peninsula where they had a beach house was beautiful. He asked Eva to run some errands in town and pick up what amounted to a picnic lunch. By this time it was almost impossible for him to walk he was so breathless but while she was gone he managed to bring the folding chairs out onto the deck into the sun. He was casually lounging when she returned with his treats: a paper, a latte, pastries from his favorite bakery in Long Beach and a club sandwich. They sat outside and visited with friends (Dad ate his jelly donut) until the sun set. He had all of the things he loved in one place. He even said he saw his dear friend Hobie Cat (who had died) looking in on him. When it was too cold to stay outside Charles and Eva gathered their things and went in to the cabin together.

Below is an excerpt from William Cullen Bryants’ Thanatopsis:

So live, that when thy summons comes to join

The innumerable caravan which moves

To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 75

His chamber in the silent halls of death,

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,

Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 80

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

William Cullen Bryant. 1794–1878