Charles Colerich's Obituary
Charles Colerich
February 5, 1944 - March 17, 2025
We bid farewell to Charles James Colerich, a true friend, uncle, cousin, and neighbor, who departed from this world on Monday, March 17, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of kindness and generosity. Charles—also known as Charlie to his close friends, Chas on the online bike forums, and Chick by his numerous extended family members—walked and cycled through life with a gentle strength, yet was "marine tough," and touched the lives of everyone he encountered with an unforgettable sense of humor and mental acuity.
Charles Colerich was born on February 5, 1944, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Charles and Rhett Colerich. He grew up in Pittsburgh, joining the ROTC in high school. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at the age 18 and traveled around the world with an extended stint in Japan. After serving four-and-a-half years in the United States Marines in the mid-to-late 1960s, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to pursue his love of the arts and bicycling. While there he also worked as a mechanic on big rig diesel engines, then passenger vehicles, and finally bicycles, his true love. In 1982, Charles moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and settled in Oakland, where he started a very successful +40-year career at Western Tool & Supply Company, a family-owned business. He was a very successful salesman and managerial contributor due to his extensive knowledge of metallurgy, helping the owner to increase the company’s value substantially.
Charles had many hobbies, including road cycling, painting abstract art, fine dining and exploring new restaurants, and building computers, but his main passion was refurbishing classic vintage road, racing and tour bikes. He was a member of several Bay Area cycling groups and enjoyed going on long rides and talking about cycling with his friends. At one time he had an extensive collection of over 70 vintage bicycles. He had a collection of art from New Mexico friends and his own paintings in his chosen media of acrylic.
Charles was a staunch advocate for veterans, politically left-leaning causes, and the underdog, dedicating his time and resources to making the world a better place as he saw it. An avid lover of classic rock-n-roll music, collector of vintage bicycles—mostly those made in France—and enthusiast of expensive red wines, Charles found beauty in life’s simple moments and encouraged us all to do the same. His most treasured physical activity was cruising on a perfectly painted, shiny chrome-accented, and expertly tuned vintage bike from his vast collection, happily winding his way through the paved paths surrounding the nearby island of Alameda and taking in the stunning beauty of the San Francisco Bay.
Plagued by several types of cancer during the latter decades of his life, he handily defeated them all and would often boast that his multiple types of oncologists dubbed him the poster child for mental toughness and formidability. Charles never showed fear or defeat, choosing instead to muster a relentless doggedness that served him well. Finally, though, after his second bout of liver cancer during the last few years of his life, he succumbed, but only after judicious due diligence, using his deep understanding of his medical diagnoses and chronic conditions. Through his bouts with cancer and his final endurance when it metastasized, Charles showed the steely bravery of an ex-Marine with no self-pity or remorse. He was very proud to say he lived his life under his own terms.
Charles was predeceased by his parents Charles “Charlie” and Rhett Colerich and sister Muriel LeGasse. Charles’ final resting place is the National Cemetery of The Alleghenies in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. He will be sorely missed. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to Northern California-Bay Area Cycling Groups, KQED, or Vietnam Veterans of America, causes deeply important to him. A memorial will be held in the Oakland area on Saturday, July 19, 2025, particulars TBA.
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