Charles Herbert "Chuck" Tollefson was born in Preston, MN on December 5, 1928, the son of Casper and Mable (Habberstad) Tollefson and grew up primarily in Austin, MN through his high school years. He was very athletic and was a member of his high school swimming team that won the State Championship for two consecutive years, 1945 & 1946. Chuck briefly attended junior college in Austin before receiving an appointment to attend the U.S. Naval Academy from his local U.S. Congressman in 1947. He was also on the Naval Academy swimming team for three years and graduated in the upper third of his class in 1951.
Chuck served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a naval aviator. He made several active-duty world-wide cruises on U.S. aircraft carriers, USS MIDWAY (CV-41), USS BENNINGTON (CV-20), USS INDEPENDENCE (CV-62), USS TICONDEROGA (CV-14), USS CORAL SEA (CV- 42), USS AMERICA (CV-66) and USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65).  He flew various aircraft over the years, F6F Hellcat, F9F Cougar, F8U Crusader, TF-1 Trader, A4 Skyhawk, and EA-3B Skywarrior. He met his wife Yvonne during this time (the sister of his squadron mate) and they were married in 1957 and started a family. While he and his family (3 boys) were stationed at NAS Atsugi, Japan from 1969 - 1970 during the Vietnam conflict, Chuck flew and performed 121 combat classified reconnaissance missions.  He retired from the Navy with the rank of LCDR in 1971, having completed 20 years of active-duty service. He chalked up well over 461 arrested carrier landings and 4321 flight hours throughout his flying career. To say it was a demanding and dangerous job would be an understatement.
The family settled in Anacortes in 1971, and Chuck returned to college at Western Washington University and earned a teaching degree in two years. But as Anacortes was a small school district, teaching jobs were scarce, so Chuck went to work at the Texaco refinery as a unit operator and worked there for 16 years until retirement in 1990. During this time, he was active in his church and served as an assistant Scoutmaster while his three sons were in the Boy Scouts. He was always very fit and active and loved to hike, camp, and of course, never missed an opportunity to play golf!
After putting all three sons through college, Chuck and Yvonne, now both retired, began their lives as "snowbirds", spending 6 to 8 months each year traveling the U.S. in their 5th wheel RV. All this time as they traveled the entire U.S., they golfed, visited relatives, golfed, rock hounded, golfed, visited countless state and national parks and did we mention golf?  They did this every year for 22 years, until 2012. They spent most of their later snowbird years primarily in Tucson, at Davis-Monthan Air Force base where several of their friends also spent the winters and loved to play golf. Next to flying jets, golf was Chuck's main passion in life. During summer months when back in Anacortes, he golfed in local tournaments, and he and Yvonne's social life revolved primarily around golfing. His favorite course was The Gallery at NAS Whidbey where he played multiple times a week.
Chuck passed away in Bellingham, WA, on Friday May 1, 2026. He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Robert "Bob", and wife Yvonne. He is survived by his sons, Jim (Franki) Tollefson of Kent, WA, Eric Tollefson of Bellingham, WA, and Kirk Tollefson of Anacortes, WA; and grandson Luke Tollefson of Renton, WA, and 3 nieces and nephews.
A graveside urn committal service with military honors will be held at 1:00 pm, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Grand View Cemetery in Anacortes.
Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory Inc., Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. To share memories of Chuck, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel.com