Obituary

Charan “Birdie” Bird, 72, died Jan. 4, 2021, at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

She was born July 26, 1948, in Eugene, Oregon, and moved to Ketchikan in 1962. After graduation from Ketchikan High School in 1966, she left Ketchikan for many years. She returned to Ketchikan in 2011.

“To most she was known as ‘Birdie,’ and to her family she was known as Charan,” her family writes.

“She was a true survivor,” her family writes. “As a survivor, she devoted herself as an advocate for those with mental illness and disabilities. This was her passion right up to her death.

Charan Bird was preceded in death by her father, Commodore Bird; mother, Frances Wood; stepmother, Doris Bird; and brothers, William Bird and Douglas Saxe.

She is survived by her sister, Kathleen (Jeff) Rodger of Ketchikan; sister, Pamela (Don) Johnston of Washington; brother, Donald Wood of Oregon; four nephews; seven nieces; 12 great-nephews; 13 great-nieces; and one great-great-nephew.

A celebration of life is planned in the spring, on a date to be announced at that time.