Charlie W Johnstone

Charles W. "Charlie" Johnstone, 89, died in the early morning of Sunday, October 6, 2024, at the Powell Valley Long Term Care Center as the result of a short illness. Charlie was born March 26, 1935, to Robert N. and Pearl Ann Rolofson Johnstone in Peoria, Illinois, where Reverend Johnstone was serving as a Methodist minister. Charlie joined siblings Robert Johnstone and Ruth Ann (Johnstone) Cooley. When Charlie was around 6 months old, the family moved to Powell to live on the Warren Rolofson homestead northwest of Powell.

Charlie attended grade school, junior high, and high school in Powell graduating in 1953. He joined the U.S. Army soon after and served as a cook at Fitzsimmons Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. He was discharged in 1955. He attended Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, and graduated in 1959 with a BS in Forestry and Forest Management.

Charlie worked for the United States Forest Service for several years before going into private industry working for various lumber companies in Oregon. He worked for the Navajo Nation for several years in its forestry department. He spent time in Fiji logging. He owned a forest road building business. In 1984 he returned to Powell to be closer to his siblings. He started his own lumber and firewood business. He married Cecil Alice Jones on August 6, 1988. He was one of the original incorporators of the Park County Multiple Use Association. He was a Park County Commissioner from 1996 to 2004. In 2009 he and Cecil Alice moved to Cheyenne where she worked for the State of Wyoming Department of Audit, Division of Banking. During the Pandemic they moved back to Powell.

Charlie is survived by his wife, Cecil Alice, his daughter, Karen N. Johnstone, Seattle, Washington, and son, Charles L.R. Johnstone, Everett, Washington, numerous nieces and nephews, and may great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert N. and Pearl R. Johnstone, brother, Robert N. Johnstone, sister Ruth A. Cooley, and sister Mary Johnstone, and various cousins.

A graveside memorial service will be held Saturday, June 7, 2025, at Crown Hill Cemetery at 11 a.m, with Rev. Janita Krayniak presiding. A light lunch will be served after the service at Catering with Joy, 1069 Road 12, Powell, WY. Thompson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Memorials may be given to Northwest College Foundation, 231 W. 6th Street, Powell, WY 82435, Homesteader Museum, P. O. Box 54, Powell, WY 82435, or the charity of the donor's choice. No flowers, please.