Charles Lewis Lofton's Obituary
Charles L Lofton passed away on July 18, 2025, in San Diego, California, doing what he loved: scuba diving.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1957, to John Marion and Anne Watson Lofton, the 2nd of two sons.
He graduated in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri - St. Louis, and from Indiana University with a master’s in political science with an emphasis on Russian Studies. He became fluent in the Russian language, good enough to earn money as an interpreter while he finished his degree.
He changed his career trajectory and got an entry level job at Goddard Space Flight Center in the late 1980's, working his way up in the field of computer programming. He eventually ended up on Maui in 1995, working for the Maui High Performance Computing Center.
By 1997, Charlie returned to the mainland doing contract work - he and his two cats Alice and Gertrude (who had moved with him to Hawaii) traveled around the United States, until they finally ended up in Southern California. At the time, Charlie was signed up on several match-making websites, hoping to find that special someone. It was through one of these websites that he received an email from the woman who would eventually become his wife (Marie).
Charlie and Marie moved to the San Diego area within a few months of meeting on that blind date, as Charlie had just acquired a job at the Univ of California, San Diego. They lived in La Jolla for several years, got married on Maui in 2000, and bought a house the following year.
Charlie continued to further his career, with his last job being at Samsung Semiconductor as a Performance Engineer, where he worked since 2022.
Charlie had many hobbies over the years: He enjoyed a good game of chess in his younger days; He was an avid bird watcher, loved to read books on various subjects (mostly non-fiction), loved watching a good movie or a favorite television series, loved music (mainly anything before 1979) and at several periods of his life he played the banjo. He also dabbled in the arts, taking classes with his Watson cousins in Pittsburgh.
He had a deep love of the ocean, something that was probably in his DNA, as many of his Lofton cousins and aunts and uncles shared that same love of the sea. He had acquired two sailboats: The first was in San Diego while they were living in La Jolla, but after losing that first boat (it was confiscated due to so-called illegal parking), he bought a second boat in the Bay Area of Northern California when he lived there for a few months during his initial start with Hitachi Data Systems.
His favorite pastime in the water, however, was scuba diving, having first learned while living on Maui. Charlie was diving a few times a week for a while, and that included night dives. La Jolla Shores was a favorite dive spot, and so was Murray Head. There were also trips to Monterey and Catalina Island. He made yearly trips to the Cayman Islands and most recently went to the Philippines for an underwater photography workshop. Photography was another passion of his, a hobby he had in common with his father. He photographed birds, as well as the sea creatures he met while diving.
Charlie is predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his wife of almost 25 years, Marie, his brother Jack Lofton (Audrey), stepmother Priscilla Lofton Herzoff (Mike), stepsister Katherine Lofton Fraser (David), his paternal aunt Amy Moore, several nephews and nieces, and many cousins, as well as his beloved cats Maggie and Peaches.
A private memorial service will be held TBD. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial contribution to a charity such as World Wildlife Fund, Audubon Society, or any group whose main goal is that of taking care of our planet.
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