Remember the Huskies

Adventure Was in Their Souls
Shirley and Charles Genther

Shirley, '45, and Charles, '52, Genther of Seattle had many things in common. Two of the biggest were a love of adventure and a passion for the University of Washington, and its football team.

Shirley and Charles Genther

Shirley and Charles Genther

Charles held season tickets to Husky football for 42 years (first with his late wife, DeNeece, and later with Shirley, a widow he married after DeNeece died of cancer in 1989). They often took trips and were looking forward to the cruise before the Washington-Miami game.

"They had a suite on the cruise ship next to Don James," says Genther's son, Mark, of Seattle. "They were very big fans."

The Genthers loved adventure, traveling around the world several times and getting away any time they could—including many Husky road games.

They also loved the water. They owned a boat that they took from their Laurelhurst home to Husky Stadium for games, and were always getting away to the San Juans.

Charles, better known to his friends as Chuck, was "a real Renaissance man," recalls Mark. Former owner of Olympic Chemical Co. in Seattle before he retired, Genther helped build the original family home on Mercer Island, once restored a Model A Ford and was always fixing things up. Shirley loved to paint and create Bonsai gardens.

But getting out to see new things was their real joy, which is why they did not want to pass up a chance to see the Mayan ruins on the flight that took their lives. "I can't imagine them sitting on the boat while there was some excursion going on," Mark says. "They always wanted to see something new."


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