Charles Phillip Carle

Charles Phillip Carle was also a low-key community volunteer who helped build low-income housing and reduce San Francisco Bay pollution.

Carle, a Petaluma area resident for 22 years, died of kidney failure on April 1 at his Petaluma home. He was 76.

"He did things thoughtfully," said his son, Steven Carle of Penngrove. "He put everybody else first."

While raising his family in San Rafael, Carle donated 176 pints of blood, giving a pint "as often as he could," his son said.

A longtime member of the First Congregational Church of San Rafael, Carle was a leader of the church's effort to build and manage 30 units of low-income housing, which recently underwent a $3 million renovation.

As board member of a Marin County sanitation district in the 1960s, Carle worked to cut wastewater contamination of the bay, which was widespread in that era, his son said.

Carle's community service tended to be inspicuous, as was his approach to parenting. When Steven Carle played Little League baseball, his father volunteered as an umpire - a role "nobody likes," Steven said - rather than the more common parental role of coach.

"I think that was his way to help all the kids," Steven Carle said.

An avid backpacker, Carle took his family on hiking trips, mostly in the Sierra wilderness areas north of Yosemite National Park.

The son of a Navy officer, Carle was born in Washington, D.C. and moved with his family to bases in Anacostia, Va., Corpus Christi, Tex. and San Diego, Alameda and Santa Rosa.

During his father's stint in Santa Rosa, Carle attended school from the fifth to ninth grade. He graduated from San Leandro High School in 1951 with "the nicest smile among senior boys," according to his peers.

He attended UC Berkeley and College of San Mateo for several years before serving in the Navy from 1955-56. His affinity for playing bridge may have cost him academic success at Berkeley, his family said.

Carle earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry at San Jose State University in 1961, and worked 24 years as a chemist for PG&E, tackling problems at The Geysers geothermal field and other power plants around Northern California.

At The Geysers, Carle solved problems involving corrosion and explosions in the steamfield pipes, his son said.

After retiring in 1988, Carle moved to Penngrove and then to Petaluma. He devoted himself to playing bridge at the Petaluma Senior Center, and he also enjoyed music, woodworking and travel.

Carle played fiddle in a country-western band and classical violin, including performances at his church and at his son's wedding. He also played banjo and ukulele and even bought a tuba in retirement.

Steven Carle said his father was a conversationalist, good at storytelling but equally interested in listening to others. "You usually don't find that combination," Steven said.

Survivors, in addition to his son, are longtime companion Heidi Matthiessen of Petaluma; daughter, Lisa Carle of Chico; sister, M.L. Carle of Penngrove; two grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews, including Santa Rosa City Schools board president Bill Carle.

A memorial service and celebration of Carle's life will be held at 1 p.m. April 25 at the First Congregational Church, 8 North San Pedro Rd., San Rafael.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Petaluma, 416 Payran St., Petaluma, 94952-5907 or Paula Lane Action Network, P.O. Box 2903, Petaluma, 94953.