Charles Henry “Chuck” Kirsch

Charles passed away on January 29, 2018 surrounded by loved ones at a hospital in San Francisco, California where he had initially received treatment for cancer 17 years earlier. He was a native of Annapolis, Maryland and a resident of Stinson Beach, California. Charles attended his freshman year of college on a swimming scholarship at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. He then transferred to Michigan State University. During his senior year, Charles married the former Janie Strieff and they moved to California where, a couple years later, they had a daughter. That union ended in divorce in 1981. On July 3, 1984, Charles married Margaux Logan Dolen at a Buddhist Temple in Japan. That 33-year union was blessed with a son and a daughter and ended with Charles’ passing. They followed the principles of Buddhism and were strong believers in karma and the golden rule. Charles was a life-long entrepreneur. He owned and operated Master Fasteners, a wholesale distributor of building construction products serving markets throughout California and elsewhere around the country. He always loved world music. Brazilian and Cuban jazz filled the home and was the soundtrack to his life.  Everywhere he traveled around the world he’d gather music from the culture and play it for his children. He loved the water. Charles was known as an avid swimmer in his youth and he watched the ocean daily from his beach side home in Northern California. He loved watching basketball and football and was inspired by the play of the Golden State Warriors selfless playing style. He enjoyed watching track and field and often attended the Olympic time trials in Sacramento. He passed along the love of sports to his children.  He was a voracious reader of Popular Science and loved to read about the latest in technology and political trends. Charles was a big proponent of the latest technology. He was one of the first of his generation with a car phone. first cell phone (90’s), and first electric car (2002 Toyota Prius) which he purchased new on the internet.   He was into Bitcoin in 2012 before many people knew about it. He loved science, math and the cutting edge of things; was into EMF (electric magnetic frequency) and had the first of the devices now used. He also owned an infrared type light therapy developed by Nasa which helped him heal during his extensive battle with complications after cancer. Charles was a big proponent of medical marijuana and the medical cannabis movement in California in 1996. He advised many people on the laws of medical cannabis in the 90’s and 2000’s. Survivors included Charles’s wife Margaux; his children Alicia, Kelsey and Andre’; his grandchildren Madison, Dalton and Collette; and his sister Christine.

Information from Margaux Kirsch in October 2022; ancestry.com; obituary for Florence Strieff on findagrave.com; and the Willard Library Newspaper Index online..