Charles Edmund Banellis

Charles Edmund Banellis, passed away at age 54 in Livermore, California on January 12, 2003 of cardiac arrest. Charles was born in Logan, Utah on November 6, 1948 to parents Lt. Colonel Edmund Anthony Banellis and Anne Dorthea Banellis, both formerly of Pennsylvania. Charles had a marvelous life and career, beginning in 1959 when his parents enrolled him in a special preparatory school for young boys in Great Britain. This British school was Skippers Hill Manor, a seascout school located in Mayfield, Sussex, England. After studying three years in England, Charles returned to the United States sailing on the famed Cunard oceanliner from South Hampton, England to New York City Harbor. Georgiana, his sister, also sailed with him, having also completed a British education. Both were met by their Mother, Anne, at the New York port as it disembarked from crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Together the family traveled by railroad, meeting their relatives and both sides of grandparents, Banellis and Gombert in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Arriving by train from there to the West, they were met anxiously and happily by their Father, Edmund. Charles resumed his studies at Logan Senior High School, and joined the Logan Senior High R.O.T.C., graduating with high honors. Charles received a Utah State University Army R.O.T.C. scholarship in 1967. After one year of study, Charles applied for military service academies and was selected as the principal nomination by Utah;s Representative, Lawrence J. Burton, appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. In 1971, Charles graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in engineering and the German language and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy?s line officer corps. As a line officer, he was assigned to many geographic area, and loved especially his assignment on the USS Preble docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On September 24, 1977, Charles wed Shirley Briggs from El Cajon, California, a daughter of Richard and Lorraine Briggs. Together they had three children, Daniel, Laura and Aileen. In 1991, Charles retired from his naval career as a Lieutenant Commander and began to earnestly pursue the field of law. He graduated from the John F. Kennedy Law School in Walnut Creek, California. Charles was employed as a paralegal at an Atena Law Firm in the San Francisico Bay area. His greatest ambition was to pass the California Bar exam. This, he worked towards after graduating from law school. He taught part-time at the Heald Business School campus as an instructor in computer technology. His interests were always enthusiastic for which he had a love and desire for so many happinesses in his life. He loved road and mountain biking, professional marksmanship, computer technology, model airplanes, nature, lepidoptera, fossil hunting and family life. He had an unusual gift for the English language, vocabulary, expressions of thought and at one time desired to be a professional writer. Through his mother?s inspiration, Charles wrote daily accounts of his life in a diary and did so up until his passing. He will be greatly missed and was loved by so many people. He was preceded in death by his Father, Lt Colonel Edmund A. Banellis, U.S. Air Force Reserves 1972 and his loving mother, Anne Dorthea Banellis 1998. He is survived by his immediate family and one proud grandson, Skyler, as well as his only sibling, Georgiana Marie Banellis of Nibley, Utah. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2003 at Nelson Funeral Home, 162 East 400 North, Logan. A viewing will be held prior to services at the funeral home from 12:30 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. Burial will be in the Providence City Cemetery with Military Honors.