Charles “Chuck” Sturkey Sr., the director of operations at Los Angeles Residential Community Foundation (LARC) Ranch, died in early January.

Born on Dec. 28, 1939, in Savannah, Georgia, Sturkey was well established in the Santa Clarita Valley’s philanthropic communities as a giving activist.

“He was one of the finest men I knew. I don’t even know how I got so lucky,” said Kathy Sturkey of her husband. “He was patient and kind and loving, and he made me laugh.”

At the age of 17, Charles Sturkey received parental consent from his mother to join the United States Navy, where he would soon be shipped off to Vietnam “before it was even a war,” according to his wife.

Sturkey served in the Navy for 10 years and eventually became a skilled electrician, later holding positions at ITT Aerospace and Lockheed-Martin.

Sturkey also taught photography classes in the early days of College of the Canyons,  developing a name for himself as an accomplished photographer.

Sturkey was described by many as a beloved artist, writer, veteran and devoted family man. He was well known amongst friends and family for the pearls of wisdom he would share on his Facebook page, affectionately referred to as “words from Sturkey.”

“As we grow older, our burdens become heavier. Not only do we have the challenges of advancing life, we still manage to still carry some of the past with us. If it was ‘said’ it cannot be retracted. If it was ‘done’ it can no longer be undone,” said Sturkey in a Facebook post dated Sept. 16, 2019. “What is behind, will always remain there in the past, that no matter how hard we try, it will forever remain the same. The road of life is a one-way path that extends from birth to our eventual death. Why waste time on yesterday, look at today as history and tomorrow is the future. One cannot change ‘what was’ only ‘what is to be.’”

For the last 15 years of his life, Sturkey worked as the director of operations at LARC Ranch alongside Kathy. Together, the two have provided leadership and stability to over 200 of the Santa Clarita Valley’s most vulnerable residents.

“I needed a director of (operations) and he did it lovingly and well. He was of a mind that we will leave somewhere better than it was when we got there,” said Kathy.

Soon after his 80th birthday, celebrated with his wife during a vacation in San Diego, Sturkey died on Jan. 1 at UC San Diego Hospital.

“He would talk to anyone. We would be in the grocery store and get talking and give them a hug, … and then he would tell me he just met them,” said Kathy. “He would meet people and remember their names. He touched people a great deal.”

Sturkey leaves behind Kathy, his wife of 40 years, his children, Charles Sturkey Jr., Michael Calderon Jr., Donald Sturkey, Katherine Calhoun and William Sturkey, as well as 15 grandchildren, including four great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made in Sturkey’s name to LARC Ranch.

Sturkey’s celebration of life is scheduled to begin with mass at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, located at 23233 Lyons Ave. in Newhall, immediately followed by a reception at LARC Ranch Hoffman Auditorium, located at 29890 Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus.

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