Charles R. Hatch

Charles R. Hatch of Sandpoint passed away of prostate cancer and related health problems at the Schneidmiller House in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at the age of 80.

Born to Elma (McMechan) and William Hatch on Nov. 11, 1942, in Seattle, William grew up in various areas of the Pacific Northwest. He attended the University of Montana and paid for his education fighting fires and smokejumping during the summers, graduating in 1964.

Following graduation, he worked for the USFS in California, and the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station in Bozeman, Mont. During the following period he earned a Master of Forestry degree from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

In 1971 he began a career in academia spanning 36 years and multiple institutes of higher learning. He began as an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University and later accepted a position at the University of Idaho, where the majority of his work was done.

In 1983, Charles married Cheryl Marie Pitkin, who had begun working at UI in 1970 and retired from Charles’ department the year they got married. They had four lovely children: Franklin Martz, Shannon Wells, Ty Hatch and Ravi Hatch. When Charles and his family returned to the United States in 2009 after a span spent working on international assignments in India and Pakistan, they relocated to Sandpoint permanently. Charles’ contributions to the world of academia and the University of Idaho community continue to make an impact on those he touched.

Short’s Funeral Chapel of Moscow is in charge of arrangements and condolences may be left at shortsfuneralchapel.com. Any gifts left in Charles’ honor are requested to go towards the Frank Pitkin Scholarship Fund at the University of Idaho.