Charles (Charlie) Dean Horton passed away on September 14, 2012, ending a long battle with congestive heart failure. Charlie was born on September 5, 1960, in Madison, Wisconsin. He grew up in Desloge, Mo., graduating from North County High School in 1978. Charlie attended the Bible College of the Ozarks and Mineral Area College in Missouri. He was very proud of his position as Production Manager of the MAC Theater program. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Charlie worked in the hotel industry for many years. In 1998, he met his significant other, Barbara, online and moved to Seattle to build a new life with her. After five years working for Verizon Wireless, the couple sold their home and moved to Ocean Shores where they opened the Book Store at the Beach. Their dreams of being small business owners were cut short when Charlie suffered four heart attacks in 2005, resulting in damage to all but 14% of his heart. Closing the store, Charlie and Barbara moved to Hoquiam so he would be closer to the medical care facilities he needed.
Despite his ailment, Charlie was a jovial, outgoing, friendly guy who loved his family, friends and neighbors. He enjoyed traveling around the neighborhood in his electric chair just to say hello and chat with all his neighbors. He was also well known by many of the business owners in Hoquiam and Aberdeen, as he regularly would pop into their stores to visit and keep up on what was happening in “his” city.