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Charles L. "Chuck" Sanders

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charles-sanders

December 27, 1938 - October 1, 2022

Charles (Chuck) Sanders, age 83, of Loveland, CO, entered the presence of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday October 1, 2022 after suffering a massive heart attack.  

   Chuck was born on December 27th, 1938 in Highland Park, Illinois, the son of Charles Leonard Sanders and Barbara McPherson Sanders. Despite being born in Highland Park, he spent his childhood years growing up in Covina California during pre and post WWII.  In 1950 the family sold their home and moved to a small farmstead in Williamson, upstate New York, where he was a graduate of Williamson Central high school.  He attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and got a degree in Biology. While there, being seen at six foot ten inches tall, Chuck was offered a full ‘ride’ scholarship to play basketball for the years 1956-1960, to which he did with great success.  Chuck later received a M.S. degree in Wildlife Management from Texas A&M and a PhD in Radiation Biology from the University of Rochester.  While attending University of Rochester, he was waiting in line at the hospital cafeteria when Chuck saw Patricia Stiehler across the way and said to friends, “I am going to marry that lady” and quickly introduced himself.  They were married on July 27, 1963.  In 1966, Chuck accepted a position with Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories in Richland, Washington doing cancer research at the Hanford site.  He would work for Battelle for almost 30 years.  He later became an adjunct faculty member at Washington State University prior to his retirement in 1996.  He and his first wife Pat were longtime Richland residents and raised their four children there prior to her passing in 1997. 

 

Chuck met Shirley in Springfield, OR at the home of her ‘godparents’, Bob and Daisy Lind. They found common interests in both having lived in Richland, WA, laboratory work, golf, and missions. Two months later they traveled to Argentina to support a missionary. The couple married on May 16, 1998 in Springfield, OR.  In 2003 having applied and been accepted as missionaries by the International Institute for Christian Studies (IICS) in Kansas City, KS for Chuck to be an international teaching professor which was always a goal of both Chuck and Shirley. Starting in 2004 they spent 6 years living in South Korea teaching at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) University. The couple was allowed to team-teach which was unheard of at the time.  They considered it a great privilege to teach together.   At KAIST Chuck taught courses in Technical Writing for Publication and Radiobiology and an additional 12 small group settings teaching the Bible and Apologetics. Chuck was a prolific writer having published 120+ peer reviewed articles on radiation effects and 3 books. People and students met and mentored overseas held a special place in his heart.  Chuck and Shirley settled in Loveland, CO upon returning to the US in 2010, where Chuck was an active member of Mountain View Presbyterian Church.

   Chuck experienced a spiritual new birth on August 26, 1971 when he gave his life to Christ.  As a scientist, he made the decision early to place the Bible as absolute Truth and to filter everything else through it.  In recent years, he wrote a book that sums up his faith “Did Jesus Believe Genesis?  The bible as Absolute Truth in a Scientific and Historical World”.  He had a passion for sharing the Good News and Christ’s love with people was evident to everyone who knew him.  Despite being hindered by Neuropathy and using a walker in retirement, Chuck continued studying and writing four to six hours a day on his computer.  Chuck wrote sermons and topical Bible studies for Pastor John Chisunkha, a powerful evangelist, in Malawi. Chuck delighted in being used in this ministry with Rev. John and Rich Keller until his last day.  He also continued his scientific research and corresponded with SARI (Scientists for Accurate Radiation Information) on hormesis, the beneficial effects of ionizing radiation.  A final word from Chuck, “God wants to talk to you, but first you have to listen.”

   Chuck was preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia Ann Stiehler Sanders (1997); son, Mark Sanders (1983) and daughter, Gail Sanders (2020).  He is survived by his beloved wife Shirley Shaw Sanders, his sisters Nancy (Dave) Foote, Sandy (Nick) DeChristofaro, and Debbie (Paul) Strollo, , his children Kim (Dan) Olsen and Chris (Tiffany) Sanders, his step-children Brett DeLannoy and Laure (Skip) Ford, 11 grandchildren - Rachel (Sam) McBurney, Lauren Sanders, Anna Sanders, Mary Sanders, Mark Olsen,  Natalie Olsen, Kayla Ford, Luke Ford, Jack Ford and Eli Ford, 1 great-grandson - Hanson McBurney. Chuck had a father’s heart for the beloved families of Juyoung (Hyejin) Kim with Ahyeon Sophia and Shoujun (Yingying) Wang with Victoria.

   A memorial service will be held at Mountain View Presbyterian Church on October 28 at 10:30am.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the mission committee at the church for Bibles for Malawi.

 

SERVICESMemorial Service

Friday, October 28, 2022
10:30 AM

 

Mountain View Presbyterian Church
2500 N. Garfield Avenue
Lovealnd, CO 80538