Charles Sillman Obituary

October 1945 – February 2025

Charlie Stillman of Seattle died on February 18 after a long siege with T-cell lymphoma.

Charlie grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, attended Amherst College, graduated in 1967 and, having been drafted, joined the Army. He spent a year in Vietnam and came home to live in Boston. In June of 1970 he married Susan Jackson, also of Brookline. The next year they moved to Seattle where he continued his studies earning a PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Washington. A former Appalachian Mountain Club Hutman (Carter 1963 and Zealand 1964), Charlie enthusiastically began to explore the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. Camping, skiing, hiking and biking their way through the seasons, traveling in their VW bus, Charlie and Susan took advantage of the opportunities of this great region as often as they could.

To manage his dissertation research data Charlie became intrigued with the use of computers. In 1979 he purchased a shiny new Apple II, and found a new passion. As a bicycle commuter he packed it back and forth to the university and joined Call A.P.P.L.E. the local Apple users group. Upon graduation he took a job there. Building his computing skills became a driving interest. After earning his PhD, he studied database programming and took business classes to start his own business with partner Walt Nelson. During this period he also became part of a sailboat partnership and began local cruising with Susan and their two young children. In 1992 he became a trustee of Stillman College, in Tuskaloosa, Alabama, an HBC founded by his great grandfather. For many years he served on the Board, twice as Board Chair.

An avid biker, Charlie traveled thousands of miles on two wheels. In the boatless summer of 2002, the couple rode their recumbent tandem bicycle 2342 miles across the country from Seattle to Nonquitt, Massachusetts ending their trip in waters where the family had sailed for generations. Charlie’s spirit of adventure led them to purchase a larger cruising sailboat, their beloved Malo 42 Gratitude, in which they spent 22 years cruising the Salish Sea and Canada’s waters around Vancouver Island as well as down the Pacific coast to Mexico. During these years Charlie worked part time at Discovery Yachts as a yacht broker and became active in the local ham radio nets. He loved tinkering with his antennas and all sorts of other electronic gear. Charlie’s participation in sailing clubs including the Seattle Yacht Club and Cruising Club of America was a source of personal connections and volunteer commitments.

Charlie’s health deteriorated over the last two years but he did manage one last cruise in September before making his final voyage on February 18. He is survived by Susan, his wife of 54 years; children Fred and Helen Stillman; Fred’s wife Martine and grandchildren Eleanor and Elizabeth; also his sister Daphne and brother Jimmy; Susan’s sisters Edith and Margaret Jackson and her brother Ned Jackson plus many nieces and nephews and their children as well as loving relatives on both sides of the family. Donations in his name may be made to Long Live the Kings (lltk.org), the Bonnell Cove Foundation (bonnellcove.org) and Stillman College (stillman.edu).