Rev. Dion: `Marvelous caretaker'

In his many years as a pastor, Chuck Dion rejoiced at a lot of weddings, told a lot of jokes and wiped away a lot of tears.

There were countless times he was called away from his family in the middle of the night to sit with parents whose son had died in an accident or a war, to comfort a woman abandoned or to hold the hand of a sick child.

"He was always there when you needed him, and he always made time for people no matter what time of day or night," said Lih Kildahl, a member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Mercer Island, where the Rev. Dion was pastor for two decades before his retirement. "He was a marvelous caretaker of his people."

Charles "Chuck" Dion, 82, who died Sept. 18 in his North Bend home of complications from diabetes, was known to his family and parishoners in Mercer Island, Longview and Vancouver, Wash., as a man of passion, humor and grace.

He had a dry sense of humor and leavened his sermons with jokes, puns and wry asides. He was a lively man who stashed candy bars, told great ghost stories and loved to hunt. He was an intellectual who had no time for sanctimony.

And he was a human man who struggled with his failings and his imperfections.

"My father touched so many lives," said his daughter Lynn Dion Merz. "I've gotten calls from Belgium and Colorado and all over the map from people who said I can't tell you what your father meant to me. But he always felt that he hadn't given enough to us, that he hadn't been a good father or a good husband, and it became a point of suffering for him."

It was that very humanness, though, that inspired people and drew them to his church. "He put the Gospel in very human terms," said his son Mark Dion of Seattle.

"He tried to say these stories are all about flawed people, people like us. He didn't theologize or criticize. He tried to make people see that they belonged to God, imperfections and all."

The Rev. Dion grew up in Minnesota as one of five children in a working-class family - his parents did laundry and his father also was a steel riveter.

Until he was about 10 years old, he attended the Russian Orthodox Church in which his Ukranian mother had been raised, according to his brother, William Dion of Colorado. But when his father's stepmother took him to a Lutheran church, his allegiance changed.

"In the Orthodox Church, we heard a lot about fear and judgment, and when we went to the Lutheran Church, we heard about forgiveness and grace, and we liked that message better. We both became Lutheran ministers out of gratitude," his brother said.

The two brothers went to St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where they studied theology. The Rev. Dion earned his master's of divinity from Luther Seminary, also in Minnesota.

"We were the first in our family to go to college, and our father could not believe that we both chose what he thought was the only college profession that leaves you poor," William Dion joked.

At St. Olaf, the Rev. Dion met and married Audrey Ness. It was a perfect match, their children said.

At their first church in a tiny Minnesota farming community, the parishioners came out to greet them, and their first question to the young couple was about what they planned to plant in their garden.

"They were both city kids, and they just looked at each other, as if to say what's a vegetable garden, and they realized right then that they were in for a lifetime of learning together," Mark Dion said.

When they moved to Washington several years and four children later, the Rev. Dion inherited a church with about 50 members, according to Paul Fauske, the current pastor of Holy Trinity.

He knocked on hundreds of doors - for him, evangelism was a face-to-face job - and over the years saw the church's membership grow to more than 400.

"When the new sanctuary was built and people asked how many it seated, he would answer, `Well, it sleeps 450,' " said Fauske.

The Rev. Dion went on to serve at churches in Longview and Vancouver. After his retirement he and his wife, who had never lived in their own house, bought their dream home in North Bend at the foot of Mount Si.

"They absolutely loved it there," his daughter said.

Nearly two years ago, Audrey Dion died after 56 years of marriage. The Rev. Dion's children said he never got over the loss.

"She was his emotional center," his son said.

The Rev. Dion died in bed the day after he celebrated his birthday. In addition to his brother, son and daughter, he is survived by sisters Kay Olsen and Dorothy Shartin of California; sons David Dion of Yakima and Jim Dion of Federal Way and their spouses, and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held today at 1 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 8501 40th Ave. S.E., on Mercer Island. Remembrances may be sent to the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Endowment Fund.

Christine Clarridge's phone message number is 206-464-8983. Her e-mail address is cclarridge@seattletimes.com