Obituary of Charles Partington

Charles A. Partington Jr., known to friends and family as Chuck or Cappy, passed away in Vancouver, Washington on April 13, 2009. Son of Charles Sr. and Dorothy Adreon Partington, he was born in East Orange, New Jersey in 1939. Chuck, the oldest of four grew up in Tucson with sister Carol and brothers David and John. He was in the first graduating class of Catalina High School and earned both B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from the University of Arizona. Chuck left Arizona to pursue a doctorate in History from the University of California at Riverside. He taught History and served in several administrative roles for Chapman University in Orange, California where he met Toni and her children, Tina and Damon. Chuck and Toni were married in 1982 and moved to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980's where Chuck taught History and English as a Non-Native Language at Portland Community College and Mt Hood Community College. Chuck called Gresham, Oregon home and ran for the Oregon Legislature in 1996. Everyone who knew Chuck heard about his love of baseball. It began as a child when major league teams came to Tucson for spring training at High Corbett Field. He talked about seeing Joe D, Mantle and others who made a strong impression on him. They were bigger than life and the game was even bigger. He had a lifelong love affair with baseball, was a member of The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), created and maintained a web site of statistics, wrote articles, and collected record books that he read with fascination. He had a network of friends in virtual leagues and in his later years became interested in writing about the leagues in Mexico. Chuck was always the student of baseball - reading and learning all he could. Chuck was a voracious reader of nonfiction, usually reading three or four History books at a time. He loved Social History, US and Latin American History, and biographies. He had a wonderful way of helping students understand the past by connecting events to the present. While at Chapman University he had an opportunity to teach aboard Navy ships in a program called PACE. He jumped at the chance to go to sea. He spoke about standing at the rear of the ship on a pitch, dark night with the stars so bright and close he thought he could touch them. These moments of reflective solitude probably describe him best. Growing up in the desert gave him a deep appreciation for the ocean, and it is his wish to have his ashes scattered at sea. Chuck leaves behind many friends and family - John and Tally Partington, Carol and Chuck Sleight, David and Carla Partington, Toni Partington, Tina, Javier and Francesca Cruz, Damon, Tiara, Shane and Kaylee Kelley, the Finnigan cousins Guerri, Georgia, Harriette, and Susie, Jolyn Wolfe, the baseball guys located all over the country, and literally thousands of students who knew him over the years. In lieu of flowers the family suggests a donation in his honor for Parkinson's Research, or that you attend a baseball game this summer, enjoy sunshine and hot dogs and during the 7th inning stretch, think of him. Brown's Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Camas has been entrusted with arrangements.