Charles “Packsack Louie” Clarke died peacefully on Jan. 4, 2016 at Seamar in Seattle, at the age of 86, and will be missed by all.
Louie grew up on a small farm in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. He joined the U.S. Army at the age of 16 and was the radio operator and waist gunner on a B-17 flying fortress stationed in England.
After leaving the Army he logged up and down the west coast from the redwoods of northern California to the old growths of southeast Alaska, ending his logging career in the cedar forests of the Olympic Peninsula.
Louie met Jane, the love of his life, while she was in Alaska working as a maternity nurse. They were married for 38 years until she passed away in 2002. Louie and Jane were longtime residents of Grays Harbor.
There will be a graveside committal service at Sunset Memorial Park in Hoquiam tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m., followed by a memorial at 619 First Street in Hoquiam. Please join Lyle and family and we will share our memories of Louie and Jane.
