Charles Herbert Washington

Charles Herbert Washington was born in Portland, Oregon on a cold and snowy December 18th, 1951 to Joyce Gertrude Hickman and Charles Herbert Burks. Later he was adopted by Duane Washington, the man who he called his father. He was the oldest of 7 children born to Joyce.

Charles (known as Chucky) was a natural leader and stellar athlete in high school, lettering in varsity basketball and baseball all 4 years. As a senior at Jefferson High School, he was named to the All City basketball team and to the All State baseball team, having captured the highest batting average in the state. He also met his future wife Beth at Jefferson.

Remaining in Portland for his post-secondary education, Charles pursued studies in marketing, communications, and political science at Mt Hood Community College, Portland Community College, and finally Portland State University.

Charles’ oldest son Christopher was born in 1969. Then in 1978, Rakeem was born, followed by Chaka, Serena, and Omar. There was much joy in his life, but much tragedy too. His greatest sadness was losing Christopher in a Boy’s Club car accident in January 1979, when Chris was just 9 years old.

In 1990, after a 15 year entrepreneurial stint in small business ownership and property management, Charles joined Cory Publications, the previous parent company of the Portland Observer, as Public Relations Director / Assistant Editor. In 1995, Charles was named Publisher of the Portland Observer, succeeding his mother (the late Joyce Washington) at her retirement from Cory Publications.

Charles had a long history of community involvement and public service, following the legacy left by his mother. Active in community athletic programs and other social service organizations from a very early age, he was an organizer and coach for community basketball and baseball programs for 25 years, from Little League to Portland summer college baseball. In 1996, continuing his commitment to the community, Charles established the Joyce Washington Memorial Scholarship Fund for graduating high school seniors and community college students interested in pursuing careers in journalism and/or community service.

Charles had a gift for mentoring children, especially those who faced significant challenges. He had an incredible comedic style and finely honed wit that allowed him to convey life messages to the kids who really needed them most, in a way that no one else could – mostly raw, occasionally subtle, but always funny.

Coaching Little League served as a conduit for Charles to share his gift. He also used Little League as an outlet for his own family. His Little League rosters were almost always filled just by family members alone. The prowess of his young teams

grew legendary - so much so that it led one of the other coaches to bitterly remark to Coach Washington (league president at the time) about his team’s winning records “It’s all y’alls league anyway!” To which Coach Washington promptly replied “They’re all family. I can’t help it if they’re good. I’d still have to have them all on my team if they weren’t any good!” Charles was a father figure, uncle, and coach for so many, and all became part of his extended family.

Charles served as president of Portland’s District 1 Peninsula Little League, a member of NAACP, Urban League, the Portland Chamber of Commerce, and the Portland Chapter of the African American Chamber of Commerce. He was also a long time sponsor of Self Enhancement, Inc., a nationally recognized non profit organization for children at risk, and an annual supporter of the Portland Golf Youth Association. Recognizing the many unique talents a diverse culture and population offers, Charles honored and promoted diversity throughout his lifetime. This commitment was reflected in the philosophy of the Portland Observer. But he felt his truly greatest achievements and blessings in life were through his family.

Charles took great comfort and pleasure in raising his young family. Some of his proudest moments were watching his children start their own families and become successful adults; graduating with advanced degrees in their respective callings: law, medicine, education and eco-science.

Delighting in the arrival of each new grandchild, Charles felt his life had come full circle. He was Poppo! He kept control of the remote but lost control of the living room! Toys everywhere, little ones “helping” in the kitchen – “what happened to the dinner?” When distractions from the grandchildren meant dinner didn’t achieve the most optimum result, he’d grumble “I guess Emmy (she was 2) cooked the chicken tonight.”

In keeping with Charles’ philosophy of more meat, less dessert (especially for family events), he decided the grandchildren should learn other skills. “Forget about cracking eggs, I’m going to teach them to cook a roast!” Poppo’s barbeque and smoked salmon techniques were legendary; family holidays and events became a joyous production to share with everyone whose number was in his cell phone, and enough food to feed an army. He lived each day trying to teach others what was really important in life and what wasn’t. Charles had already learned those lessons – he was just waiting for everyone else to catch up.

Charles is predeceased by his son Christopher, mother Joyce, grandmother Frieda and brother Cory. He is survived by his loving wife Beth, son Rakeem and wife Molly; daughter Chaka and significant other Matt; daughter Serena and husband Logan; son Omar and wife Makaela; grandchildren Emmanuelle, Jaheim, Nyla, and Marcellus; father Duane; brothers Ronald, Tony, Gary, and Mark; sisters Audrey and Denise; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and lifelong friends who were very close to his heart. He was loved by all and will be truly missed.