At Trillium House in Marquette, Michigan, on March 6, Charles Bisdee King, 91, departed quietly. Known affectionately as Chuck or Charlie (he wasn’t picky), he was a kind and devoted father, brother, uncle, grandfather, and husband. On April 11, 1933, Chuck was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Katherine (Bisdee) and Oren King. He was raised primarily in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, namely in the towns of Wells and St. Ignace, where he also completed his high school education. He then enrolled at Ferris State University, where he graduated in 1955 with a degree in pharmacy.
While working on the boat that connected Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsula before the Mackinac Bridge, he met Gwyneth Edwards, the woman who would become his future wife, while attending Ferris State. Gwyneth, who was from the outskirts of London, England, apparently clinched the deal on their first date by smelting, and she ended up living in St. Ignace until Chuck completed pharmacy school. In 1955, Chuck and Gwen tied the knot in South Croydon, Surry, England. In 1958, they welcomed a boy named David and in 1960, a daughter named Elizabeth (Beth).
Chuck and Gwen relocated to Marquette in 1955, where he worked at the venerable Pendill Pharmacy in the city center until 1961, when he accepted a position as a research pharmacist with Parke Davis in Detroit. After nearly two years, Chuck and Gwen moved their family back to Marquette because they didn’t like Detroit. Chuck began his career at St. Luke’s Hospital as a pharmacist before buying Pendill’s Pharmacy in 1969. In 1974, he established Campus Pharmacy on Third Street after running a prosperous business. Chuck built a devoted clientele and was familiar with many of them by name. In order to welcome his elderly Finnish clients in their native tongue, he even picked up some rudimentary Finnish.
He was a model of customer service excellence who always took the time to speak with consumers. In 1979, he closed Pendill’s Pharmacy, and in 1991, he sold Campus Pharmacy. After that, he spent almost two years working as a pharmacist in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Chuck had a strong interest in sailing during his early 1970s encounters with Bruce Micklow, who subsequently became his lifelong sailing companion.
After that, he bought his first sailboat, and sailing developed into a passion and family pastime. He loved sailing from Marquette to the Virgin Islands, and he did it several times. Taking his boat, “Cariad,” from Marquette to the Caribbean in 1984 is among Chuck’s fondest memories! During his sailing travels, he had many adventures and gained wonderful friends.
Chuck and Gwen took extensive trips across the United States as well as abroad, visiting locations like the United States, the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Mexico, China (for the adoption of their granddaughter), Europe, Greece, and Egypt. Chuck remained a pharmacist well into his seventies. Throughout his nineties, he maintained his landscape and enjoyed gardening. Many people will mourn Chuck terribly, but we will remember him smiling as he sailed toward another beach in a balmy Caribbean breeze, spinnaker flying. Oren and Katherine King, Chuck’s parents, passed away before him.
Chuck’s wife of nearly 70 years, Gwyneth (Gwen), his son David (Jeanne) Coeur d’Alene, ID, and his grandchildren, Chandler and Connor; Elizabeth Marquette, MI, and her granddaughter Zoe; Judy Britton (Robert), his sister; and numerous nieces and nephews in the US and the UK survive him. More information will be released soon.
A memorial service for Chuck is scheduled on July 13, 2024, at the Presque Isle Pavilion. The family has asked that donations be made to Trillium House, 1144 Northland Drive, Marquette, MI 49855, in place of flowers, should friends so wish. Chuck was given the most compassionate and skilled care possible there.
