Charles Monroe Smith

Charles was born in Memphis, Texas in 1928 to Lettie Hilyer Smith and Oral Smith. They moved to California when he was seven and settled in the Fresno area. He graduated from Washington Union High in 1946, then enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in Port Hueneme. He married Dorothy Peck, his wife of 73 years, on December 26, 1946.

He apprenticed as a cabinet maker and was in the Carpenters & Joiners Union. He built boats and worked pit crew for Belmont Boats. Most of his career was with Fresno Unified School District where he worked for 27 years in Maintenance and Facilities, retiring as the Supervisor of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation.

Charles was active in his church Full Gospel Tabernacle and then Northpark Community Church serving wherever he was needed. He served as Sunday School Superintendent, on the church Board, and ran the sound system for many years.

He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and camping with family and friends in the Sierras and at the beach. He was an artist with a camera and a skilled craftsman with wood. Chuck was an amateur radio enthusiast, call sign WJ6J. After retirement Chuck and Dorothy were avid travelers and lived overseas on short term assignments to build and maintain facilities including Int’l Correspondence Institute in Brussels, Belgium and Asia-Pacific Theological Seminary in Bagio, Philippines.

Through the years he enjoyed memberships in the Amateur Radio Club, Fresno Camera Club, San Joaquin Fine Woodworkers Assn, Central California Woodcarvers, and the Sequoia Wood Turners Club. For five years Chuck and Dorothy managed the photography building for The Big Fresno Fair.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy and all three of his children, William Smith, Walter Smith, and Lettie Boggs-Cowie. He was grandfather to 6 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.