Charles Pat Narry, of Columbia, CA, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Saturday, May 30, 2026. He was 78.
Mr. Narry was born in Norfolk, VA in 1948, and moved back west with his parents to Tuolumne County as a toddler. Outside of a brief spell in Berkeley, California as a teenager, and his military service, he lived in Sonora or Columbia his whole life.
After graduating from Sonora High School in 1966, Mr. Narry was drafted into the United States Navy in 1968. He was a proud veteran of the Vietnam War, and circled the globe while serving on the USS Detroit.
Mr. Narry was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1972, after the birth of his first son, Edward. He returned to Sonora, where he was hired as a lineman with Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. One of his annual duties in this role was restringing the phone line from Leland Meadows to Kennedy Meadows after the winter snows. He worked for the phone company for 32 years, ending his career as a maintenance and installation technician.
Retirement didn’t suit Mr. Narry well, and he became a co-concessionaire of the Jack Douglass Saloon in Columbia State Historic Park for eight years, after which he fully retired.
Mr. Narry was a member of Elks Lodge 1587, in Sonora, and the Matuca Chapter 1849 of E. Clampus Vitus, for which he served as a Noble Grand Humbug for two years.
Mr. Narry is survived by his loving wife, Kim Narry, of Sonora; three children, Edward “Tike” Narry of San Leandro, CA; Nataly Preston, of Lolo, MT; and Nathan Narry, of Springfield, OR and their spouses; and three grandchildren.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Sonora Elks Lodge on Friday, June 12, at 1 pm.
