Obituary: Dr. Charles A. Woessner

May 31, 1922 - Sep. 27, 2013

Dr. Charles (Chuck) Woessner, passed away on September 27 in Carson City. Chuck was born in Oakland, California to Charles Woessner and Bonnie Himes Woessner. He spent his youth in Oakland, but began visiting his beloved Sierra Nevada as a teenager. His adventures included taking his first ride on a chairlift (35 cents a ride at Sugar Bowl ) in hiking boots and borrowed skis, only to realize at the top of the lift that he had no idea how to get down the mountain.

Chuck’s college years were interrupted by WWII. He served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, as a Quartermaster on the minesweepers USS Caution, USS ATA 196, and USS Kingfisher. Upon discharge, Chuck entered the College of Dentistry at U.C. San Francisco, where he met his future wife, Marian Polhemus. After graduation in 1950 he took over a dental practice in Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, where he was soon joined by his bride Marian. Chuck and Marian raised four children in Yosemite, all of whom began to ski almost as soon as they could walk, and felt at home on any mountain trail. Chuck practiced dentistry in Yosemite Valley for thirty-seven years.

Chuck loved the mountains. He reached the summit of every major peak in the Sierras and hiked, climbed and bicycled throughout the world. After retirement, Chuck volunteered at a dental clinic at a village in Mexico, then in the mountains of Nepal, where he taught a young Sherpa woman the essentials of dentistry. He spent the last fourteen years of his life in Carson City.

Chuck is survived by Marian, his loving wife of 62 years; son, Chuck Woessner (wife, Missy); daughter, Anne Macquarie (husband, Chas); son, Rob Woessner (wife, Amy); daughter, Betsy Grande (husband, Kerry); grandchildren, Heidi Remick (Pelly), Betsy Owens (Brant), Trevor Woessner (Kelly), Charlie Macquarie, Anna Romanova (Valentin), Emily Woessner, Catie Woessner, Jacob Grande, Collin Grande; and great-grandchildren, Henry, Owen and Penny.

The family plans a private memorial somewhere in the mountains. If you would like to make a donation in lieu of flowers, please make it to the environmental organization of your choice.

“Go to the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as the sunshine flows into the trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” John Muir