Charles W. Powell
Anchorage resident Charles William Powell, 70, died July 24, 2007, at Providence Alaska Medical Center.
A visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Evergreen Memorial Chapel, 737 E St.
Charles was born Dec. 31, 1936, on Staten Island, N.Y.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1954 and came to Alaska in 1956. He worked for Singer Business Machines as a sales and service manager. He later worked at Fort Richardson. He opened Black Hawk Bullets and after closing moved to Chase at Mile 236 of the Alaska Railroad, where he built a log house and lived for several years.
After returning to Anchorage, he worked for Mayflower Contract Service and Head Start as a school bus driver. He established the Great Alaska Train Co. in 1987 and opened Charlie's Alaska Train Store in downtown Anchorage.
He retired in 2003 and "unretired" in 2006 to reopen Charlie's Alaska Trains in the Ship Creek Center.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, photography and trains.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Shirley of Anchorage; sons, Patrick of Kauai, Hawaii, and Bob; daughters, Cheryl Kelly of Oklahoma City and Karen Powell of Anchorage; daughter-in-law, Kristine Powell of Kauai; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and many friends.