W. Charles (Chuck) Neuenschwander

W. Charles "Chuck" Neuenschwander died unexpectedly at Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek on July 3. He was 86. His loving wife of 65 years and his daughter were by his side.

Neuenschwander was born in St. Louis, Missouri Aug. 14, 1927 to Walter and Catherine Neuenschwander. His family moved to the West Coast in 1939, where he lived the remainder of his life.

As a young teenager, Neuenschwander earned pocket change by delivering newspapers. In later years, he recalled delivering the paper announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor. After graduating from Berkeley High School, he joined the Maritime Service and served until the end of World War II. After his discharge, he completed an apprenticeship in a Berkeley machine shop, then worked at various machine shops in the Bay Area and at the Benicia Arsenal. In 1953, the year after Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was founded, he joined the Lab's Engineering Department, where he remained until retiring in 1988.

Neuenschwander worked as a technologist and coordinator in the weapons program, participating in nuclear testing in Nevada and the Pacific, as well as working in Z division. One project, called Probe, took him to the ocean off South Africa, where on a ship tossed by heavy waves he helped build instruments to track missiles launched from Cape Canaveral. Near the end of his career, he managed the department's capital equipment budget. His extensive experience in the weapons program and his knowledge of essential manufacturing hardware enabled him to contribute significantly to the success of technical projects.

Neuenschwander met his future wife, Donna, at a roller rink in Napa following World War II. They were married two years later. His wife and family meant everything to him. He was a jack of all trades who could fix anything that needed fixing – and did so on a regular basis for friends and neighbors as well as for his own family. As a gag, friends in a tennis group once brought him a pile of broken tools and appliances, which he repaired and returned in working order. He designed and built tools, fishing boats, inboard and outboard motor boats, as well as water-powered jet boats. He built a contraption that lifted his fishing boat onto his pickup truck without requiring significant effort on his part. The times he enjoyed the most were the summers spent tent camping, fishing and water skiing at Lake Shasta with his family and friends. In his younger years, he belonged to a motorcycle club where he and his wife enjoyed riding dirt bikes. Neuenschwander also loved to fish and play tennis. In later years, golf became a passion that stayed with him until the day he died.

Neuenschwander was preceded in death by his daughter, Sheran Lee, and his parents. He is survived by his wife, Donna; daughter and son-in-law, Debra and Rusty Millar; grandson, Benjamin Dumanowski; granddaughter, Laura Millar; and great grandson, Aiden Millar.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, July 15 at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 2020 Fourth Street, in Livermore. A celebration of life will follow at the Fellowship Hall of the church.

Should friends desire, remembrances may be made to The Foundation Fighting Blindness, 2800 28th Street, Suite 310, Santa Monica, CA 90404, or their favorite charity. If donating to The Foundation Fighting Blindness, please reference "Laura Millar – Light at the End of the Tunnel."