Charolette York

Charolette J. York, 60 of Port Orchard, died on November 26, 2000 in Bremerton, Washington after a tough 6 month battle with brain cancer. She was born in Bellingham, Washington on October 6, 1940 to Walter James & June (Arntzen)Grinton. Charolette earned her Bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Western Washington University and a Master's degree in Physical Education from the University of Washington. She married Patrick York on June 16, 1962 in Bellingham. They were married for 38 years. In 1970, Charolette and her husband moved to Port Orchard with their three children Linnea, Cheryl & Carl. Charolette started teaching part-time at Olympic College in Bremerton in 1971. She also coached volleyball, basketball and tennis for the college as well as teaching courses in walking & jogging, aerobic dance, slimnastics, weight management/exercise, and volleyball. As a faculty member she felt strongly about mentoring new faculty as well as advocating for women's issues. Charolette served for 29 years as the Olympic College Women's Commissioner for the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. She helped to get five softball teams together to form the first varsity league and fought to bring them under one umbrella with men's baseball to assure that women were treated equally. During this time, she helped to create the South Kitsap Girls Softball Association. This league was set up for girls from age 9 through 18 to play fastpitch softball. After 8 years of coaching, Charolette moved on to spend more time with her children and their activities. She began officiating basketball and volleyball for the local schools. After age 40, Charolette decided to take up marathon running. She ran 20 marathons including the Boston Marathon. During the summer months, Charolette added golf to her fitness regime. As a long time member of the Gold Mountain Ladies Golf Club, she enjoyed many hours on the golf course with these friends. For nearly 20 years she served as a well-respected Amateur Softball Association umpire. During this time she touched the lives of many young women in the community and across the state. She also served as the Washington State Junior Olympic Commissioner, responsible for administration of the program involving about 700 teams during the summer. Recently, she was selected to serve as a member of the Outdoor Athletic Field Advisory Council, which is responsible for establishing guidelines and awarding 10 million dollars to youth athletic fields in Washington State.Her larger than life smile and fast-paced life will be remembered by her many friends and colleagues. Her dedication to teaching, and the support she provided so many on an individual basis to improve their lives through health and fitness, will live on in the work she accomplished. Her family will miss the love she demonstrated in so many practical ways. If there is a heavenly marathon, then Charolette is ready for the race.....Always the winner.Surviving are her husband Patrick; son Carl York of Port Orchard; daughters Cheryl Head of Puyallup and Linnea York of Port Orchard; mother June Grinton of Anacortes, Washington; brothers James Grinton of Bellingham and William Grinton of Tacoma; sisters Delores Hardison of Torrance, California, Shirley Joneli of Sedro Woolley, Washington, Loretta Scheltens of Ferndale, Washington, and Darleen Hulse of Snohomish, Washington; and 7 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by father Walter Grinton and brother Jay Grinton.Memorial Service will be Friday, December 1, 2000 at 1:00pm at Crossroads Neighborhood Church in Bremerton. Inurnment will be at Sunset Lane Cemetery in Port Orchard. Memorial donations may be made to Olympic College Foundation, Charolette York Scholarship Fund, 1600 Chester Avenue, Bremerton, WA 98337 or the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, 1124 Columbia Street, LY-120, Seattle, WA 98104.