Charles E. Dalton

Charles E. Dalton, Jr. was born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1927 to Florence (Warner) Dalton and Charles Dalton.  He grew up in Salem and Portland, and at the age of 17 enlisted in the Army, which sent him to school in Utah and also to Seoul, Korea.

After the war, he received a BS from Oregon State University as well as two Masters degrees (one in Botany, the other in Education).  He met Ann Rydalch at OSU and they married. For eight years they taught high school in the wonderful little town of Bonanza, Oregon, then returned to OSU for further study.  In 1959, Charles was offered a teaching position at Kamehameha Schools in what recently had become the 50th state.  So they moved to Honolulu, where Charles taught science at Kam Schools and Ann taught chemistry at (Kam's rival) Punahou School. In later years, they spent most summers travelling throughout Europe with their three children. Charles also loved gardening, and created a beautiful year-long garden at their home in Kailua on Oahu.  They loved living in Hawaii, made great life-long friends there, and also were known for their fun pool parties.

When Charles retired from Kam Schools, he and Ann divorced, and Charles moved to Portland to be closer to his children.  Charles had many years to enjoy his retirement, spending time with his children and grandchildren, working in his garden, and frequently travelling to Europe and Malaysia. He never got over his "travel bug." In his last years, he longed to be able to hop on a plane and take off for some distant, exotic country. He never lost his spirit of adventure in all things. He died in Portland, Oregon on December 3, 2017 at the age of 90, surrounded by his family.  He is survived by his three children, Carolynn Cohrs, Susan Dalton and Craig Dalton, son-in-law Lyle Cohrs and daughter-in-law Joni Dalton, as well as three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Donations may be made in his memory to:   Lifeworks NW EASA Program,14600 NW Cornell Rd., Portland, OR  97229