Charles Max Kampton

Charles Max Kampton passed away July 22, 2022, in Napa. He was born in Kearny, Nebraska on January 16, 1933, to Max and Ruth Kampton. He is predeceased by his parents; first wife, Patricia Kampton; and daughter, Kathleen Kampton Hutchison.

Charles lived in Kearney, Nebraska until the age of eight. At the start of WWII his parents sold the family diner and moved to Chicago where they opened another diner. Charles lived in Chicago until he was drafted into the Army at the age of 19 and served two years during the Korean War, obtaining the rank of Corporal.

After the army he continued his college education at Monmouth College in Illinois, and at 22 married Patricia Jane Robison. After graduating from college, he started his career with the Office of Naval Intelligence later renamed, Naval Investigative Service, which most people know today, as Naval Criminal Investigative Service; NCIS. After his retirement from NIS, he worked at the Queen of the Valley Hospital, first in security, then the engineering department where he worked for 14 years, before retiring for a second time. Still wanting to be active, he joined, trained, and facilitated the California Highway Patrol Senior Volunteer Program and was awarded Volunteer of the Year. He also was the instigator of the "Veterans Table", in front of Trader Joes and Peets Coffee, where many Veterans set and visit with the "TOB"'s. Charles was also a member of the Sons of Retirement and a volunteer at Community Projects.

Charles and Patricia had three children together: Kent Charles, Kathleen Patricia, and William Charles. In 1998 Patricia passed away after her long fight with cancer. In 2000 Charles and Suzanne Reilly were married and were together until his death. Charles was blessed for the second time to find a women he loved and a new best companion, and also to have the love of a second family with children and grandchildren, whom all considered him to be Papa or Grandpa. He was one of the few fortunate to find love a second time after losing your first love.

Deep down, Charles was a performer at heart and loved an audience. He started singing barbershop quartet music, first in Napa, then in Hawaii and again when he and the family returned to Napa. With the help of a friend, he was an extra in few a movies and television shows. He joined the Lamplighters in San Francisco and performed in numerous Gilbert and Sullivan productions. He enjoyed acting in local plays, as well. Charles continued his singing with the Napa Valley Chorale and St. Apollinaris Church choir.

Writing and various forms of artwork also appealed to Charles, from painting to making custom walking canes. He loved to create. His biggest accomplishment was in the writing of two autobiographies and a short Historical fiction book, "A Piece of the Pie". The autobiographies were a tremendous amount of work and were for the enjoyment of family and close friends, and one of the best gifts a parent could give a child; detailing his life and providing an insight as to what made dad, dad.

Charles is survived by his wife, Suzanne; brother, Nikolas Kampton, Charles and Patricia's sons: Kent Kampton and William Kampton (Susan); Suzanne's children: Fredrick Reilly (Cheryl), Denise Reilly Baker (Marc) and Kim Reilly Radford (Ken); grandchildren: Arianna, Sophia, Zane, Katya Kampton, Joshua Hutchison, Maxwell, Nicole, Luke, Kelsey Kampton, Jessica Smith, Paige and Corey Baker, Reilly and Trevor Radford; great-grandchild, Marcelo Cruz.

In his first book he accurately expressed how privileged he was to have lived a nearly Norman Rockwell life.

A mass will be held at Tulocay Cemetery on August 9, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. Reception and internment for family, friends and acquaintances will follow.

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