Charles 'Chuck' E. Waller, 83

Charles E. Waller, "Chuck," 83, died July 4, 2015, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Chuck was born to Ewell and Nell Waller on the Rathdrum Prairie. He was the eldest of four children. During his years as a child, Chuck's parents worked in mining camps, farmed, had a dairy farm and hand-dug water wells on the Rathdrum Prairie.

Chuck graduated from Post Falls High School, attended North Idaho Junior College and the University of Idaho where he graduated with his degree in Agricultural Engineering. After graduation he taught math at Post Falls High School and surveyed roads for the State of Idaho.

In 1953 Chuck married Phyllis Churchill. They had four children: Mike, Kathy, Pat and Rosie. Chuck then took a job with IBM and worked there until his retirement in 1987.

In 1975, Chuck married Gail Forest and added two stepchildren to his family: Lori and Eric. He lived in Lewiston with Gail and her children until 1990 when they built a house in Bayview, Idaho, in Scenic Bay. Chuck had ties to Bayview since his childhood when his grandparents at one time owned Scenic Bay Resort. Chuck resided in Bayview until his death.

Chuck loved the community of Bayview and was instrumental in building the Bayview Community Center. He and Gail donated the land the Center was built on, and along with Hobart Jenkins wrote a grant to obtain funds to help build the Center. Chuck and Hobart, and their wives, traveled to Boise to lobby the legislature for funding for the Center. He also volunteered countless hours as the chairman of the Bayview Water and Sewer Board.

Chuck spent many hours on the lake. Having bought a float house in the 60s, weekends were spent fishing and skiing with family and friends. In later years, there were many family and friends who gathered at his and Gail's home for fireworks, food and fun on the Fourth of July. It seems like that was the perfect day for him to arrive in heaven and view the fireworks from above!

If ever anything needed fixing, Chuck was your guy. He was truly a jack-of-all-trades and helpful to many people, including grading the road to his house and plowing snow.

Chuck loved cars. He raced cars as a young man at the State Line Speedway. Later in life he restored cars. The last car he restored was a 1940 Mercury 4-door convertible sedan, #679 of 979. He and his good friend and neighbor, Bill Somers, worked many hours restoring it to perfection and solving the problems of the world! The car won a Dearborn award. Chuck was a lifetime member of the Early Ford V-8 Club.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents, Ewell and Nell; brothers Dick and Glen; grandson Benjamin Holland; and his great-granddaughter, Lucy Holderman.

His is survived by his wife, Gail; his sister Bev Lockard; children and stepchildren: Mike Waller, Kathy (Greg) Holland, Rosie (Pat) Willy, Pat Waller, Lori Forest and Eric (Bree) Forest; grandchildren Susan (Shawn), Sarah (Jessie), Cindy (Dave), Hannah (Kinzo), Angela (Kyle), Zach (Jessika), Brian and Matt (Jaala); as well as 14 great-grandchildren.

A potluck memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at the Bayview Community Center. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Bayview Community Center, P.O. Box 493, Bayview, ID 83803.

Bell Tower Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements, and you may view Chuck's online memorial at www.belltowerfuneralhome.com.