A2 • Friday, May 21, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
OBITUARIES
Gouverneur Charles “Chuck” Backus
Seaside
June 11, 1928 — May 6, 2021
Gouverneur
Charles
“Chuck” Backus, ship fi t-
ter senior chief petty offi -
cer, U.S. Navy, retired, of
Seaside, passed away on
May 6, 2021, age 92 years,
10 months, 26 days, at his
home. He resided in Seaside
for the past 56 years.
He was born on June 11,
1928, in Sheridan, Wyo-
ming, the son of the late
Guy William Backus and
Laura Lorraine Skinner. He
grew up on ranches in Wyo-
ming in Buff alo, Lander and
Big Horn before moving to
the Medford area in 1943,
where he worked at Harry
& David after school and
during summers building
shipping boxes.
Chuck enlisted in the
Navy on Sept. 2, 1945. His
fi nal reenlistment was in
American Samoa before
retiring on June 10, 1965.
He met his wife of 67
years, Shirley Aline Riley
Backus, when he was sta-
tioned at Tongue Point
naval station in Astoria.
They married on Dec. 25,
1948, in Medford; she pre-
ceded him in death on June
1, 2016.
Chuck was enormously
proud of his naval service.
He was assigned to ships
based out of San Diego,
Long Beach, and Oak-
land, California: the USS
Leedstown (APA-56), USS
Steamer Bay (CVA-87),
USS Matanikau (CVE-101),
USS LCS-92, USS LCM-
118, USS LST 855, USS
Marshall (DD-676), USS
Diphda (AKA-59), USS
Gen. William A. Mann (AP-
112) and two tours on USS
Point Defi ance (LSD-31).
Shore duty stations were
at the Columbia River
Group, Pacifi c Reserve
Fleet (Tongue Point) Asto-
ria, the ship repair facility
in Yokosuka, Japan, and the
naval schools command in
Treasure Island, California.
His military decora-
tions include the World War
II Victory Medal, Korean
Service Medal (two stars),
China
Service
Medal,
United Nations Medal,
National Defense Service
Medal and six Good Con-
duct Medals.
When assigned to the
USS Point Defi ance, the
ship became one of the fi rst
rocket-launching
surface
ships to support the 1958
International Geophysical
Year solar eclipse expedi-
tion to the South Pacifi c.
During that deployment
the noted American writer,
actor, radio commentator
and broadcaster and trav-
eler, Lowell Thomas, was
aboard Point Defi ance, and
was a frequent guest in the
chief petty offi cers’ mess,
which Chuck was in charge
of.
The ship also partici-
pated in nuclear tests in the
Pacifi c during 1962. In early
1963, Point Defi ance trans-
ported the bathyscaphe Tri-
este from San Diego through
the Panama Canal to Bos-
ton, and then participated in
deep search operations into
the cause of the loss of the
nuclear submarine Thresher
(SSN-593), which sank
during deep-diving tests
east of Boston.
After completing his
naval career, the family set-
tled in Seaside. He worked
for Gearhart and then the
Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation Department at Sad-
dle Mountain, Ecola Park
and Fort Stevens state parks
before starting the K-9
Motel pet boarding business
on U.S. Highway 101.
He was a member of the
Seaside Moose and Sea-
side American Legion Post
99. He liked listening to the
early country music artists,
avidly read western novels
and had a passion for hunt-
ing and fi shing.
Besides his wife, he was
preceded in death by his
brother, Gilbert C. Backus
(major, U.S. Air Force,
retired) of Rancho Cor-
dova, California; son, Guy
Edward Backus, on Feb. 3,
2020; and great-grandson,
Erik M. Martin, on Sept. 22,
2003.
He is survived by a son,
Charles S. Backus, of Sea-
side; and a daughter, Tara B.
Ruth, and her husband, Den-
nis, of Corvallis. Surviving
grandchildren are Rebecca
L. Hagan, of Weiser, Idaho,
Charles E. Backus, of
Weiser, Melissa A. Barnes,
and her husband, William,
of Lincoln City, Jessica M.
Martin, and her husband,
Jeff ery, of Phoenix, Ari-
zona, and Karen Dow, and
her husband, Justin, of Port-
land; seven great-grandchil-
dren, Kameron M. Pierce,
Chelsie M. Backus, Jasmine
E. Hust, Alexandria L. Mar-
tin, Liam O. Barnes, Reagan
K. Dow and Kevin C. Dow;
and great-great-grandchil-
dren, Harper Dahlke, Car-
son Dahlke and Kinsley
Mae Bailey.
Also surviving is a broth-
er-in-law, John C. Riley, of
Oregon City; half-sister,
Thelma Anne Freske, and
her husband, David, of Cre-
swell; half-brothers, John
“Bud” Backus, and his wife,
Marlene, of Yoncalla, and
Frank J. Backus, of White
Salmon, Washington, and
his partner, Judy Gross,
and Richard L. Backus, of
Sutherlin; and nieces and
nephews.
He will be cremated with
burial at the convenience of
the family. Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary & Crematory in
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
years, driving package car in
Seaside and as an occasional
feeder driver to Tillamook
and Portland.
He earned several awards
for safe driving, but was
most known by his unmis-
takable smile and, after retir-
ing in 1998, Paul and Cheryl
ran their mom and pop busi-
ness, Little Diggins, doing
tractor work and light haul-
ing for 12 years, and retired
again to settle into their life
in Hamlet.
Paul was active in the
small community and served
on the board of directors for
both the Hamlet Historical
Schoolhouse and Commu-
nity Center and the Hamlet
Fire Department for several
years.
Paul loved to camp, fi sh
and spend time with family,
and was “Papa” to his fi ve
grandchildren.
Paul and Cheryl were
married for 55 years. He is
survived by Cheryl, his three
daughters and their families.
He leaves a great legacy,
and will truly be missed by
many.
A celebration of life will
be held June 5 at 2 p.m.
at the Hamlet Historical
Schoolhouse.
with the Oregon Invitational
Tournament, and the club
provided him with a great
group of friends who would
get together weekly to play
cards.
In addition to all of the
above activities, he also
found time to serve on the
Providence Seaside Hospital
community board.
He was preceded in death
by his mother and father.
He is survived by his sis-
ter, Roberta Ann (Vaughn)
DuBois; niece, Laurie Lutz,
of Ogden, Utah; nephew, W.
Craig DuBois, of Rocka-
way Beach; and great-neph-
ews and great-niece, Jerad
Lutz, of Utah, Trent Lutz,
of Idaho, Cameron DuBois,
of Washington, and Aubrey
Bellowes, of Oregon, and
their families.
A celebration of life will
be held later this year.
For those who wish to
honor his memory, the fam-
ily is requesting donations
to one of his favorite orga-
nizations: Seaside Kids,
P.O. Box 275, Seaside, OR.,
97138 (seasidekidsinc.com).
when police arrived.
old Pizza Hut is warned he can’t
live there and is trespassed.
Paul Linn Weaver
Hamlet
June 4, 1944 — Nov. 23, 2020
Paul Linn Weaver, 76,
entered his eternal life on
Nov. 23, 2020, with family
and love all around him.
Paul was most known
for his clever and charis-
matic storytelling, and had
a way of capturing his audi-
ence with interesting words,
facial expressions and his
wonderful smile.
He off ered his voice of
reason to diffi cult situations
and used his warm humor
to smooth out the inevita-
ble kinks that life brings. He
believed strongly in honor-
ing, building and upholding
what was best for the fam-
ily unit, and believed that,
however painful, problems
held a wealth of lessons to
be learned.
He was born in Vernonia
to Carl Harry and Thelma
Louise Weaver. He was
raised in Vernonia, where he
attended Washington Grade
School before moving to
Seaside in 1959.
Paul wrote a column
called “Cousin Paul Sez”
in the high school newspa-
per, was active in thespi-
ans and played football. He
was inducted into the Sea-
side High School Hall of
Fame for the 1962 Cowapa
League football champions
years later in 2006.
He graduated from Sea-
side High School in 1963
and then attended Clat-
sop Community College in
Astoria. Paul then moved
to Sitka, Alaska, for work,
and returned to Seaside in
December 1964. On May
8, 1965, Paul married the
love of his life, Cheryl Hart,
in Vancouver, Washington,
whom he met at Seaside
High School.
Paul worked at the Crab
Broiler as a teen, worked
as a logger and went on to
drive log truck for Water-
house Logging, Duff y Lar-
son Logging and J.C. Ben-
son Logging.
Paul also served on the
Seaside Volunteer Fire
Department from 1972 to
1975. He worked for the
United Parcel Service for 28
John Dennis ‘Denny’ Vaughn
Seaside
July 22, 1943 — April 22, 2021
John Dennis “Denny”
Vaughn, beloved uncle,
brother, friend, teacher and
community member, passed
away peacefully on April
22, 2021.
He was born on July 22,
1943, in Portland, to Arthur
John Vaughn and Alyce
Cecilia (Jones) Vaughn. In
his youth, his family lived in
Portland, where Denny grad-
uated from Central Catholic
High School in 1961.
He then attended the Uni-
versity of Oregon. Once
out of college, he started
his teaching career at St.
Mary, Star of the Sea School
in Astoria. From there he
moved to the Seaside School
District, and taught history
and social studies at Broad-
way Middle School for 30
years, eventually retiring in
spring 1999.
His career also included
being an athletic trainer at
Seaside High School, as
well as the clock opera-
tor for basketball, football
and wrestling. He coached
the golf team for the high
school for 20 years, and led
his team to the state golf
tournament 12 times. His
involvement in the school
earned him the Seaside High
School Hall of Fame award
for educator/coach meritori-
ous service in 2008.
Denny had two other pas-
sions in his life. The fi rst
was his lifelong devotion
to the University of Ore-
gon Ducks. He was a season
ticket holder for football,
and loved everything Ducks.
His second was for the
game of golf. He was an
active member of the Asto-
ria Golf & Country Club,
where he served on the
board of directors and as
handicap chairman. He was
involved with junior golf
each summer, and helped
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
SEASIDE POLICE DEPT.
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
May 8
7:32 a.m., 200 block First
Avenue: A person reported
having a mental health epi-
sode is located by police; he
was off ered services which he
declined.
10:45 p.m., 900 block Tenth
Avenue: A person is arrested
for violating a restraining
order.
6:01 p.m., 900 block Ave-
nue K: A person with mental
health issues is trespassed
at the request of the home-
owner.
11:18 p.m., Turnaround: A
disturbance is reported.
columbiamemorial.org/behavioral-health
May 9
9:29 a.m., 1100 block S. Irvine:
A person sleeping in a door-
way is advised to leave.
4:12 p.m., 300 block Alpine: A
disturbance is reported.
May 10
3:35 p.m., Avenue S and
Wahanna: A horse reported in
the road was already corralled
7:41 p.m., 2200 block N.
Wahanna: Police contact sub-
ject reported going through
mailboxes but fi nd nothing of
concern.
9:08 p.m., S. Roosevelt : A per-
son reported living behind the
May 11
2:48 a.m., 2100 block S.
Columbia: Suspicious circum-
stances are reported.
See Log, Page A3