Charles C. "Buster" van Belle, age 94, passed away peacefully on February 1, 2021 at his home in Sutherlin, Oregon, devoted wife and family at his side. Survived by his wife of 73 years, Marjorie van Belle, his sister, Ellen Pederson of Prosser, WA, his children, Pati (Ed) Tipps of Sutherlin, OR, Charles M. (Annette) van Belle of Everett, WA, Steve van Belle and Diane (Reuel) Maxfield of Sutherlin, Vicki Stafford (Bart) of St. Paul, MN, daughter-in-law Leanne Jenson (Ken), of Tulalip, WA, 15 grandchildren, 31 great-grand-children and one great-great-grandchild, as well as cousins and numerous nieces and nephews.

Charles is preceded in death by his son, John Burton "J.B." van Belle, parents Johnny and Alta van Belle, sisters Betty Jo van Belle, Charlot Beard, and brothers, John "Jr." van Belle and Jim van Belle.

Charles was born and raised in Sunnyside, WA, the son of a cowboy, rancher, stock hauler and rodeo contractor. In high school he met the love of his life and married Marjorie Prescott.

Graduating Sunnyside High School in 1944, he served in the navy at the end of WWII. After discharge he worked in Alaska tending a fish trap to earn enough to marry. "Buster" and "Marji" lived in Sunnyside while he worked at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as a carpenter.

In 1953, they moved to Everett, WA where he worked as a heavy equipment operator installing septic drain fields, installing pipelines, building logging roads, grading the new Boeing 747 plant and working at Layrite Scaffolding in Seattle.

Charles said he moved to the coast in 1954 when he found he could fish salmon. He was also an avid pheasant hunter, making several trips across the mountain pass from Everett to Sunnyside to enjoy his passion of hunting and visiting with family. He also took pack horses into the Blue Mountains of SE Washington with brother-in-law Frank Beard to hunt deer and traveled to Canada to hunt moose.

Throughout his life, and as a member of the LDS church, Charles volunteered in many capacities, often working with young men; he acted as Softball Coach, Dance Chaperone, Scout Master, Teacher and Priesthood Leader. Charles developed a love of mentoring and serving with young men.

While living in Everett, Charles personally constructed five homes for his family and another for McKay Ogden. He helped build the View Ridge LDS Chapel, where he later served as Bishop. Charles was a dedicated member of his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After retiring Charles and Marjorie served on a mission for their church in Sacramento, CA and served in the Seattle Temple.

Returning to live in Sunnyside in 1976, he was able to live out his life-long dream of farming the land where he was raised. He again worked as a carpenter on the construction of Interstate 82 and the new McDonalds Restaurant, eventually retiring with the Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District.

Charles and Marjorie returned to live in Everett where he built his final home before moving to Longview, WA. They lived there until 2019 when their daughters, Diane and Pati, made it possible for them to move to Sutherlin to be closer to them.

He will be interred at the Roseburg National Cemetery. Due to covid-19 restrictions, service in Sutherlin will be limited to just family members.