Charles Lewis Shipley

In Loving Memory of Charles Lewis Shipley

September 23rd, 1932 – August 13th, 2026

Charles died peacefully at home on August 13th, 2026, in Mill Creek, Washington, at the age of 93, surrounded by his family.

He was born on September 23rd, 1932, in Independence, Kansas to parents Charles Haskel Shipley and Helen Esther Walker-Shipley. He attended St. Joseph’s Military Academy in Hays, Kansas, and Finlay Engineering College, Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1952, he married his childhood sweetheart, Patricia Stonecipher, and together they built a life filled with a love for God and their large, extended family, including their seventeen children. They enjoyed 74 years of marriage, renewing their vows on their 70th Anniversary at St. Mary Magdalen Church, Everett, WA on January 5th, 2022.

Dad worked at the Boeing Company for nearly 40 years, starting in 1955, where he served most notably as an Aeronautical Weight Engineer, working on some of the company’s most important passenger airliner and strategic bomber programs, including the B-47, B-52, E-4, 737, the 747, 767 and the 777.

Dad was an active member of his parishes at Our Lady of the Lake, Seattle, and Immaculate Conception, Arlington, The Knights of Columbus including serving as Grand Knight, The Mountaineers, The Boy Scouts of America, and the Red Cross, where he taught first aid classes from time to time.

Dad shared with his children and grandchildren his love for nature and the outdoors, teaching us hiking, rock climbing, camping, biking, firearms safety, first aid and survival skills, hunting, fishing, skiing, and archery. As an avid mountaineer, he climbed Washington State’s six highest peaks, among many others. His generosity, kindness, and quick wit will be missed by all who knew him.

He is deeply missed and mourned by his beloved wife, Patricia, his surviving children, Charles, Rose, Paul, Mary, Alex, Therese, Celia, Peter, David, Ellen, Jean, Kathleen, Rachel, James, Robert, and Daniel, his 48 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his third son, John Shipley, his mother, Esther and his father, Charles, his infant sister, Charlotte, his grandmother, Addie Walker, and his aunt, Bertie Cleveland.

A Rosary will be prayed for Charles at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 29 at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church prior the Funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. located at 8517 7th Ave SE, Everett, WA 98208. Christian burial will follow at Holyrood Cemetery, 205 NE 205th St, Shoreline, WA 98155.