William Arthur "Bill" Brink as a child.

William Arthur "Bill" Brink and Anna Marie "Ann" (Jantz) Brink.

Modesto News-Herald, June 19, 1929

Rites Conducted For Harry Lampley, 15

Funeral rites for Harry Lampley, 15, who died here last Thursday, will be held in the Shannon Funeral Chapel Thursday morning at 10 o'clock. Rev. Alex C. Stevens will officiate. Interment will be in the Odd Fellows Cemetery. Lampley, a native of California, leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Lampley, three sisters, Mrs. Mae Brink, Verna and Dorothy Lampley, and a brother, Morris Lampley.

Leonard Francis Charles and Jane Holden Marriage Record.

The Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA, Monday, July 16, 1956

Shower Event Given For Mrs. Brink

The former Ann Jantz was feted at a postnuptial shower in the Charles A. Brink home on Woodland Avenue. The former Miss Jantz and William Brink were married in Carson City, Nev., last month. She is the daughter of Mrs. Henry Jantz of Reedley and he is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Brink of Woodland Avenue. Sharing hostess duties at the recent social gathering were Mmes. Charles Brink and Peter Jantz, sister in law of the honoree. Snowy white set the color mood for the shower with a floral spray of white gladioli adorning the mantel. A white cake, flanked by matching hued tapers on a lace cloth were highlights of the refreshment table. Those attending the affair were Gertrude Skupin, Hideko Tamura and Mmes. Arthur Brink, W. R. Carter, James Galls, John Brinks, Clifford Grant, Pat Holden, Edward Johnson, Etienne LaCoste, Ray Michael, Bernice Millsap, Del Pinkney, Charles Sharp and Frank Vacante.

The Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA, Wednesday, May 9, 1973

85-Year-Old Modestan Dies

Jessie May Lampley, 85, a long time resident of the Modesto area, died this morning in a local hospital following a long illness. A native of Minnesota, she lived in the family home on California Avenue since 1917. She was a member of the Shiloh Grange and the Pleasant Hour Club. Survivors are her widower, Roy A. Lampley; daughters May J. Brink, Verna M. Murray and Dorothy L. Rhodes, all of Modesto; a son, Maurice E. Lampley of Ceres; sisters Sadie Sunde and Azalea McIntire, and a brother, Arthur King, all of Minnesota; nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. A service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Franklin & Downs Funeral Home. Private burial will be in the Lakewood Memorial Park.

The Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA, Thursday, July 28, 1977

Roy A. Lampley

Roy A. Lampley, 93, of Modesto died Wednesday in a local nursing home after an extended illness. He was a native of Lake County and had lived in Modesto 60 years. He was a retired rancher and a member of the Shiloh Grange and the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. He was the widower of the late Jessie Lampley; father of Maurice E. Lampley, of Ceres, and Verna M. Murray, Dorothy I. Rhodes and May Brink, all of Modesto; and the brother of Nellie Barkdull, of Ceres, Frances Chambers of Fort Bragg and George Lampley of Alder Point. Nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren also survive. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in Lakewood Memorial Park. Friends may call at Franklin & Downs Colonial Chapel after 3 p.m. today.

The Press Democrat - November 16, 2008

CHARLES, Leonard

Passed away at home on November 5, 2008. He was born to Anna and Frederik Charles who were pioneer sheep ranchers. Leonard was the devoted husband of Cynthia. He is also lovingly survived by his four children: Leonard, Jr., Judith, David, and the late Donald; grandfather of six and great-grandfather of one. A veteran, he served in the US Navy as a Chief Petty Officer during World War II and was stationed on Espiritu Santo Island in the New Hebrides Island chain. Upon return to the USA, he was stationed in Memphis, TN where he met Jane, his first wife who passed away, and is the mother of his children. Leonard and Jane returned to California, where he owned and worked in Shell Stations for 45 years in Fairfield, Santa Rosa, and Windsor. He enjoyed sports, singing, and being with old friends beneath the giant redwoods on his property.
Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service honoring his life on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 840 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa. DANIELS CHAPEL OF THE ROSES FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICES 525-3730.

Leonard Francis Charles - Longtime owner of Shell gas stations

Leonard Francis Charles of Healdsburg, son of pioneering sheep ranchers and a longtime owner of Shell gas stations, passed away at home on November 5. He was 85. “When he walked into a room, it was like a floodlight lit up. Everybody lit up. People really enjoyed him,” said his wife, Cyndy. Leonard was born in San Francisco, where he was delivered by Dr. Raines—the same family friend who also delivered his five siblings. He was a fourth-generation Sonoma County resident: his great-grandfather started a resort called Plantation near Fort Ross in the 1880s.  His maternal grandmother ran the resort for many years while his grandfather was a whaling captain, and thus often away in Hawaii, Alaska and other faraway lands. His paternal grandparents were ranchers who ran sheep on land east of Plantation. For the first several years of his life, Leonard’s family lived on the family’s sheep ranch. After his father, Frederick, passed away, the family moved closer to Healdsburg. During two summers while he was in high school, he helped his older brother George raise turkeys at one of the family ranches. After graduating from high school, he served in the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer during World War II. He was stationed in many locales during the war, including Honolulu and Espiritu Santo Island in the New Hebrides. He met his wife, Jane, while stationed in Memphis after the war. The couple married in New Hampshire and then returned to Sonoma County, where they had their first son, Leonard Jr., while Leonard Sr. attended Santa Rosa Junior College. In 1947, Leonard and Jane moved to Dixon, where, with his brother George, he ran sheep on leased ranches for ten years before buying his first gas station in Fairfield. While in Dixon they had three more children: Judy, Don and Dave. In 1959, the family moved back to Santa Rosa. Leonard bought a Shell station on Fourth Street, which he ran for two decades before moving to a station in Windsor that he owned for another 20 years. “He just loved that station,” Cyndy said. “He would kibitz with his customers, all types of people. He was very gallant with the women; he would always open and close their doors. He was good like that.” Leonard, a tall man with a broad smile, liked to spend his free time deer hunting, telling tall tales and enjoying the company of good friends and family. They often would gather at the family campground to eat, drink and dance beneath the redwood trees. In 1977, Jane passed away from cancer. Three years later, Leonard married Cyndy, who ran a shoe store in Healdsburg and who he had first met at his gas station. He sold the house he and his family had lived in for 20 years on Chanate Road in Santa Rosa, and moved into her house in Healdsburg where she lived with her three children. He remained there until he passed on. Shortly after getting married, the two took up cattle ranching on his family property. Leonard was hesitant about the cows, but soon came to enjoy them and the trips out to the country to care for them. He and Cyndy would throw hay bales in the back of a truck and drive his youngest stepson and granddaughter around the fields, letting them help feed the herd. Leonard is survived by his loving wife, Cynthia; his son, Leonard, of San Anselmo; his daughter, Judy, of Myrtle Beach North Carolina; his son David, of Ontario; his step-children: Chet of Cedarville, Chris of Montague, and Leticia of Phoenix; twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was also the father of the late Donald Charles, of Forestville.

Starbuck-Lind Mortuary

William "Bill" Arthur Brink

( April 11, 1931 - March 13, 2016 )

William Arthur “Bill” Brink, 84, of Lompoc, CA passed away on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Lompoc after a short battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was born in Modesto CA on April 11, 1931 to Arthur W. and May (McMillan) Brink. He attended schools in Modesto, and graduated from Modoc High School in Alturas CA, where the family had relocated. After graduation, Bill spent 4 years in the US Navy during the Korean conflict, serving on the seaplane tender “Kenneth Whiting” working as both a radio and aviation electrician on various aircraft. He also attended Cal Poly before returning to Modesto. He was married June 23, 1956 to Ann M. Jantz, whom he met in Modesto 3 months earlier by the arrangement of his aunt and her sister-in-law. Three children were born to them. Due to his natural technical abilities he was selected for training and served for various companies on the cutting edge of computer hardware. His skills took him all over the US and to several assignments abroad before settling in Lompoc in 1977. He was known for his no-nonsense approach and innovate solutions. In 1984 he and a partner started their own company, South Coast Phoenix, and continued working at VAFB until his retirement in 1996. Bill's lifetime passion was aviation. He learned to fly as a teenager while his father had an aviation business in Modesto. In 1977 he refreshed his flying skills and acquired a Cessna 182, which he enjoyed flying until a few years ago. He also spent many happy hours working on building his own plane, a Skyote, from scratch. Another activity Bill enjoyed very much was spending time with family and friends at his remote cabin in the Diablo Range of central California. His friends and family will remember him most for his cheery outlook, his sense of humor and a love of a good story. He is survived by his wife Ann and daughter Catherine; daughter Karen (Dean) Lifshay and their children Reuben, Jacob and Daniel Lifshay; and son Tom (Pamela) and their children Jason, Tamara (Dustin) Nunley and Nathan. Bill is also survived by his brother James (Minnie) Brink of Modesto CA. A Memorial Service will be held Friday, March 25 at 2 pm at the Seventh-day Adventist church located at Chestnut and I St. in Lompoc, with refreshments after the service.