Robert Charles Witten (1945-2014)

Robert Charles "Charlie/Chuck" Witten was born on the 20th of May 1945 in Alamosa, Colorado. He is the second son and fourth child of Robert Dalton Witten and Bessie DePriest Witten.

In high school, he was making 70 cents an hour. His dad told him to work hard and to put in a full day's worth of work every single day. If he didn't, then he should give part of his paycheck back. He learned what honesty and work ethic were all about from his dad.

Chuck

Between his junior and senior years of high school he worked at the Oriental Refinery in Alamosa. That summer he and some Alamosa boys helped make pesticide to help with a local worm outbreak. One of the coaches from Alamosa High School worked there and tried to get Chuck to transfer to Alamosa High School to run track. He decided to stay in La Jara and be a star (he was a very fast runner) instead of being one of the crowd in Alamosa.

He graduated in May of 1963 and attended Southern Colorado State College in Pueblo, Colorado. In 1965, he received his Associates degree in Auto Mechanic Services. That June, he submitted his mission papers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He received his mission call to the Guatemala, El Salvador Mission. He was ordained as an elder on the 2nd of July. His sister, Bev, took him to the Salt Lake Mission Home. There he met the apostles Gordon B. Hinckley and Joseph Fielding Smith. After a week in the mission home, Chuck drove to the Language Training Center in Provo. He was there 3 months, and learned to speak Spanish.

He arrived in Guatemala on the 2nd of March 1966. He served in the countries of Guatemala and El Salvador. When he returned home, he wanted to go to BYU, but was unable to get in for that quarter. In September of 1968, he began attending BYU. By January of 1971, he enlisted in the army. He spent basic training in Fort Ord, California. While most of the other's in his basic training were sent directly to Viet Nam, he was not. He had learned to speak Russian and was needed as a Russian linguist.  Chuck was not only able to speak English, Russian and several Spanish dialects, he also spoke Portugese, Italian, German and a few Eastern Bloc dialects.

He was discharged from the army on the 14th of April 1974. He graduated from BYU in April of 1976 with two bachelor degrees. He re-enlisted in 1977 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was stationed in Washington D.C. and there he met Joyce Elaine Haight. They were married in the Washington D.C. temple on the 26th of November 1982.

Washington D.C. Temple

Chuck joined the Army Reserves in 1989 and the Retired Army Reserves in 1998. He was an Army Major when he retired. His Army career lasted 22 years. On the 3rd of April 1990, he was hired by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He is a Senior Intelligence Analyst and plans to retire in January with 24 years and 10 months of service.

Afghanistan 2011

Chuck and Joyce have four children and three grandchildren. They look forward to serving a few short-term senior missions for the church. They are also looking forward to visiting and traveling.

UPDATE:  August 7, 2014

After a seven year battle with prostate cancer, Chuck passed away on the 31st of July 2014 in Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Maryland.  He is buried in the Veteran's Cemetery in Crownsville, Maryland.