Charles Henry Baumann, 91, passed away peacefully at Lake View Adult Family Home in Kenmore, Wash. on Dec. 2, 2017. Charlie was the only child of Charles and Christina Baumann and a loving husband to Nancy Nicholas Baumann (1951-1998) and Carol Elizabeth Kabat Baumann (2000 - 2013). He is survived by his daughter, Barbara, his son, William and his family, Carol's children, Alan and Ann and her family. Charlie moved to Issaquah, Wash. in 1999.
Charlie served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946, followed by four years in the Naval Reserve. Charlie received a masters of library science degree in 1952 from Pratt Institute and his doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1969.
His library career was spent in Plattsburgh and Niagara Falls, N.Y., Laramie, Wyo., Cheney and Seattle. Charlie retired from Eastern Washington University as University Librarian Emeritus in December 1990. Charlie oversaw the conversion of the library's cataloging system from Dewey Decimal to Library of Congress cataloging; the start of an online catalog and end of the card catalog; the first moves toward a consortium of academic libraries; and the utilization of computer databases in the library at EWU.
Following his retirement, served as a part-time library consultant at Eastern and after moving to Issaquah, he acted as Interim Director of Library Services for City University of Seattle.
He published multiple articles, sat on numerous committees and volunteered with many organizations dear to his heart, in Spokane and Seattle. Charlie had a love for airplanes and aviation history. He enjoyed riding his bike, hiking, camping, backpacking, skiing, traveling, listening to classical music and reading. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, his beloved pets, Remy and Philippe, plus visiting his favorite Starbucks.
Charlie will be dearly missed by his family and friends. A celebration of life will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Drive in Spokane on Saturday, July 7 at 2 p.m.
Remembrances in Charlie's name may be made to EWU Library or Scholarship Fund, Cheney, the Museum of Flight in Seattle or the Alzheimer's Association.
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