Obituary

Charles Dekker

03 December 2008

BERKELEY — Charles Abram Dekker, professor emeritus of biochemistry, died Sept. 6 at his home in El Cerrito, at the age of 88.

Born April 9, 1920, in Chicago, Dekker spent his early years in Grand Rapids, Mich. After graduating from Calvin College, he served in the U.S. Navy in the North Pacific. He received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Illinois, followed by postdoctoral work at Yale and Cambridge. He began his academic career at Berkeley in 1951.

A devoted teacher, adviser, and researcher in the biochemistry department, he helped develop the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. After his retirement in 1985, he continued to teach, advise, and serve the university.

Dekker's survivors include his wife of 61 years, Alice; daughters Laurie Salatich of Capitola, Mary Dekker of Twin Peaks, and Emily Fiala of Hancock, Mich.; sons Stephen of El Cerrito and Harrison of Albany; sisters Marian Hall of Wabasha, Minn., Ahleen Heynen of Anchorage, Alaska, and Doris Smedes of Grand Rapids, Mich; seven grandchildren, and numerous friends, colleagues, and former students.

A campus memorial service was held Nov. 2. The family suggests donations in memory of Charles Dekker to the UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships (checks payable to UC Regents), Attn: M. Judson, 2150 Kittredge St., 4C #1060, Berkeley, CA 94720-1060, or Kaiser Permanente Oakland Hospice, 235 W. MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611, or the Richmond-Regla Committee, 1401 Marina Way S., Richmond, CA 94804.

— San Francisco Chronicle