Chuck Gildersleeve

Formerly of Baker City, 1938-2020

Charles Delbert (Chuck) Gildersleeve, 82, of Spokane, Washington, and a former Baker City resident, died on Sept 11, 2020.

His graveside service will take place on Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. at Pines Cemetery in Spokane.

Chuck was born on May 13, 1938, at Lewiston, Idaho, to Walt Gildersleeve and Edith Gildersleeve (Raatz). He was born on Friday the 13th and during the eclipse of the moon, much to his grandmother’s superstitious dismay. The family had moved to Washtucna, Washington, the following year, and then moved to Baker in 1941, where Chuck went to school and met his future wife, L Kay Young, after first dating her identical twin. He graduated from Baker High School in 1956 and during high school had worked with his father, Walt, at Standard Oil Distributors. After high school, Chuck went to WSC (Washington State College) and was in the first graduating class of the newly renamed WSU (Washington State University) in 1960. If you know Chuck, then you are aware that WSU is the best college in the world. He was a proud Cougar, hanging the flag and always sporting the clothing, car colors, and license plate covers. At WSU he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta and the ROTC and went to Fort Lewis.

Chuck was an avid golfer. His talent in golf lasted his entire life, for he won and played in many golf tournaments. Chuck played on the varsity golf team at Washington State University for four years, 1956-1960. He was a member of the WSU athletes Grey Club and was captain of the WSU golf team in 1960. After college, he played many pro-ams and tournaments with one of them that qualified him to play golf with Ben Hogan during an exhibition event. He spread the love of golf to everyone and was a collector of putters and quite the golf historian in his own right.

According to his children, Chuck was a master gardener, getting his passion for gardening from his mother. He loved cooking and loved being outdoors and camping with his family.

Chuck and Kay were married on Aug. 22, 1961, and they raised three daughters in Baker. Chuck soon realized the one bathroom in his house would be overrun with girls, therefore not having any more children. Chuck worked for Gildersleeve & Sons Standard Oil Distributors from 1960-1975 with his dad and his brother, George. He was the president of the Chamber of Commerce and during that time “Paint Your Wagon” was being filmed in 1968 in the Wallowa Mountains. Chuck had an opportunity to play golf with Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin during spare times of the movie filming.

In 1975 Chuck bought Baker Dairies, delivering milk and dairy products to homes as well as grocery stores, having his daughters be the taste testers for new ice cream flavors because he only liked vanilla.

In 1981, Chuck and Kay moved their kids (the youngest begrudgingly) to Spokane, where he worked as a food broker for various companies until he fully retired in 2017 at the age of 79.

Though Chuck had several relationships following his wife’s passing, Kay was his true love and so fittingly he joined her in heaven on her birthday.

Chuck is survived by his sister, Joan Staab (Dick); his three daughters, Kathy Gildersleeve-Jensen (Jim), Sheri Gildersleeve, and Debbie Fair (Phillip); his grandchildren, Amanda Fair, Travis Fair, Brianna Jensen, Chase Jensen, Abigail Gildersleeve and Jason Gildersleeve; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Gildersleeve and Edith Gildersleeve; his wife, Laura Kay Gildersleeve (Young); and his brother, George Gildersleeve.