"Chuck"

Charles Harber Life Story

Charles James Harber was born in Los Angeles, Ca on 2/18/43 to Margaret and William Harber. He had an older brother, William “Bill” Harber who was born 3 years prior. His parents divorced when he was young and the boys lived with their mother in Hurley, New Mexico until Chuck’s brother contracted Polio and Chuck went to live with his father in Guam when he was age 7. Chuck’s father was a civil engineer who helped build nuclear power plants all over the world and thus he was living in Guam during this time. Chuck lived there for 1-2 years when he returned to living with his mother and brother in California while his brother was being treated at Shriner’s Hospital. Several years later Chuck visited his father once again in Mexico City, Mexico and often spoke about the prop plane he traveled on. In high school Chuck and his friends formed a car club called The Rum Runners. “we had plaques made and attached them to our cars in the rear window. We had many events including building race cars, drag racing ¼ mile, dances, fundraisers, supported the poor at Christmas by donated food and gifts, and we had many drunken parities.” Chuck’s brother’s health deteriorated and Chuck was sent again to live with his father for his last two years of high school. This time he went to Round Mountain, Ca (near Redding) where his father had a ranch. Chuck’s paternal uncle, Virgil “Pete” and wife Pauline also had a small farm nearby and he was close to them. Chuck finished high school there.

After high school Chuck was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War and served 4 years in Italy as a mechanic for helicopters, jets, jeeps, and big trucks. He had found memories of his travels around Italy and his favorite jeep, lucky #13.

Chuck was honorably discharged from the Army and returned to Los Angeles where he attended community college. A friend set him up on a blind date in 1967 with Jean Marie Minnich from Long Beach and they were married that same year in October. They lived in a small apartment in Long Beach for several years until they bough a home in Garden Grove that used to belong to Jean’s maternal uncle. The house on Strathmore Drive was their home for 33 years. They raised two daughters there, Colleen Denise was born in 1970 and Jennifer Lyn was born in 1973.

Chuck worked for McDonald Douglas in Long Beach for 10 years as an airplane mechanic for the DC-10 (also where Jean’s father worked) until he was laid off in 1977. He quickly found work as a bus mechanic with Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) where he worked for 28 years, medically retiring in 2005. While at OCTA, Chuck was a union steward, head of the recreation committee, and received many awards including perfect attendance and perfect safety record. It was here, in 1993 at a company picnic that he won his first chili compeitiion.

In their early years before children, Chuck and Jean enjoyed tent camping, off road dirt bike riding, hiking, fishing, and playing cards with friends. They continued their love of the outdoors after having children by purchasing a large camper shell that fit on their Ford pick up truck. The family of four traveled for years all over the SouthWest (Ca, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada) for several weeks each summer. They often camped with Jean’s parents or with close friends. Their main destination, however, was Round Mountain, Ca to visit Chuck’s uncle Pete and wife Pauline. The girls enjoyed playing with the chickens and dogs, playing in a nearby creek, fishing, target shooting, and metal detecting. Chuck and Jean loved the area so much that they bought 10 acres there with plans to build a retirement home with a view of Mount Shasta. As the family grew, they sold the Ford truck and camper shell and bought a large tent trailer. They continued their summer

adventures until the girls were in college. They sold the property in Round Mountain a few years ago.

As an avid hunter and outdoorsman, Chuck hunted and fished regularly with his friends and coworkers. As the lead of the recreation committee for OCTA, he organized deep sea fishing boat charters, and fishing competitions. He also deer hunted each year in the high sierras with close friends. Over his lifetime, Chuck hunted deer, elk, bear, boar, and duck with both shotguns and archery bows His love of the outdoors also included hiking, camping, driving off road, gold mining, metal detecting, frisbee golf, BBQ’ing, smoking meat, and golf. His other hobbies included home improvement, poker/black jack, car restoration, collecting antique guns, watching movies (especially old westerns, gold mining, and fishing/hunting) and reading (especially about war, western exploration, and native americans).

Chuck retired from OCTA in 2005 after he fell and broke his wrist at work. Ironically, while recovering from this injury, he fell while hiking and broke his other wrist, which required surgery. As a retiree, Chuck enjoyed his many hobbies but started a new one. He and his best friend Ken Hook started to attend chili competitions as judges and learned what this chili competition world was all about. Then they started cooking and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. They cooked under the name “On The Road Chili” for years until purchasing a chili powder company called “All Things Chili” and cooked under that name. Chuck was very successful in his chili competition career, obtaining his “hat trick” (first place wins in all 4 categories) almost each year to qualify for the world championships. In their early years, he and Ken also competed in the World Food Championship in Florida, hosted by Guy Fieri and the won the chili category.

2016 was a memorable year. Chuck was diagnosed with prostate cancer and began chemotherapy. He also attended the ICS World Championship in Las Vegas where he won first place in Red, earning $25,000 and the title “World Champion”. After this win, he purchased his dual cab, full bed Ram diesel truck and had a personalized license plate “CHILI16.” Chuck and Jean purchased a 29 ft class A motorhome that also had a personalized license plate “CHILICMP.” Chuck, Jean, and daughter Jennifer went on many adventures in the new RV, including Lake Havasu, Shaver Lake, Lake Skinner, Mammoth, Big Bear, and Lake Isabella. They enjoyed cooking outdoors, hiking, driving the jeep on back roads, fishing, metal detecting, and watching their dog Deuce swim after ducks.

Chuck’s cancer treatment in 2016 was effective and he had many years of health. Unfortunately the prostate cancer spread to his bone and other organs and 2 yrs ago he attempted another round of chemotherapy. His liver was not able to handle this and his health began to deteriorate slowly over the past year until last month when he became weak and tired. He was in the hospital for a few days but came home to start hospice care. Surprisingly, he was only on hospice for less than 48 hours when he passed away at home on June 1, 2024.

Charles Harber was a friendly man who loved to talk and tell stories. He was very patient and kind. He loved life and his many hobbies. He was thoughtful and rarely complained. He would go out of his way to help someone else, especially his family and friends. He was a patient husband and a wonderful father. He will be missed dearly.