Yolo-San Luis Obispo County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....YORK, Charles James  July 18 2000
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Peggy B. Perazzo pbperazzo@comcast.net October 6, 2004, 10:51 pm

“Winters Express,” Thursday, July 20, 2000
Charles James York  

Dr. Charles James York, noted for his achievements in virus research and in the
advancement of veterinary medicine, passed away on Tuesday, July 18, 2000 at
8:40 in the morning at his home in Winters.

A native Californian, Dr. York was born to James and Violet York in San Luis
Obispo on Sept. 18, 1919.  The family moved to Hollister during his youth where
he grew up participating in the pleasures of outdoor life in Steinbeck country.
 The rural character of the central California coast at the time imbedded a love
of things outdoors.  All his life Dr. York was an avid hunter, fisherman, and
naturalist.

Long before the environmental movement was conceived, Dr. York was concerned
with issues of preservation and conservation.  His knowledge of natural history,
his love and pleasure of plant and animal identification, and his joy in
exploring, camping, and experiencing the natural world of California, the United
States, and of other places around the world stems from these experiences of his
youth.  However, these interests were channeled into an unusual path as the
result of experiencing a form of juvenile arthritis which often kept him indoors
when his peers were at play, causing him to develop his truly remarkable asset,
his keen and insightful mind.  Inspired by reading the Microbe Hunters in his
youth Dr. York resolved to be a microbiologist.

To that end he matriculated at UC Berkeley where he received his BA in 1942,
followed by a DVM at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1948, and
finishing at Cornell University for his Ph.D. in virological sciences.  He
worked briefly in virus research at Cornell before accepting a position with the
Pitman-Moore Company in Indianapolis, Indiana for a period of 11 years as
Director of Virus Research.  In this capacity he spearheaded the development of
dozens of innovative ideas into useful vaccines, serums, and other products for
prophylactic and therapeutic use in animal and human diseases.

Desiring to revert to an academic career from a commercial one, Dr. York
accepted a series of positions commencing with Head, Department of Veterinary
Science at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana in 1963; then Director
of research at the Institute for Comparative Biology at the San Diego Zoological
Gardens in San Diego, California in 1965; and finally as an Associate Professor
of Comparative Pathology on a part-time basis beginning in 1967 at the
University of California, San Diego Campus.  He assumed full-time
responsibilities as the Director, Division of Animal Resources after 1970.

In this capacity he was especially active in conducting research in comparative
medicine and especially in etiology of infectious diseases and their prevention.
 In 1977, Dr. York moved to Davis to accept a position with UC Davis.  For some
time he had been feeling restricted in his ability to exercise the full range of
his abilities within the university system.  Having already tried corporate
America, Dr. York decided to experiment with the private sector again, but this
time as an entrepreneur in private business.  He initially became a partner in a
private laboratory and research firm near Davis.

Still feeling that he was wrestling with restraints on his potential in this
endeavor, he left the partnership in 1985 and, at an age when most men are
retiring, formed Biotrends International.  This became a very successful small
business ultimately employing over 40 people in research and production of
vaccines and related medical products.  He remained active directing this
company for fifteen years selling it just weeks before his death.

It is difficult to fully appreciate the caliber and vitality of Dr. York’s mind
from a mere rendition of his work history.  He has been directly responsible for
guiding over two dozen vaccines to market, many of which, such as vaccines for
canine and bovine distemper or for parvo virus in dogs, are still in common use.
 He has over 50 scientific publications to his name.

Over his lifetime his professional memberships were numerous.  They have
included the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association
for the World Health Organization, the American Society for Microbiology, the
Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and the Society for International
Development, the US Animal Health Association, the World Association of
Veterinary Microbiologists, Immunologists and Specialists in Infectious
Diseases.  Additionally, his past activities have included consulting on
Infectious Diseases to Ft. Detrick’s Chemical Warfare Department, member to the
Ad Hoc Committee on Hog Cholera for the American Veterinary Medical Association,
Consultant to Lackland Air Force Base’s Epidemiology Laboratory, membership in
the Viral and Rickettsial Study Section of the NIH Grant’s Division, consulting
to the national Cancer Institute Special Virus-Leukemia Program, member of the
Editorial Board of the American Journal of Veterinary Research, member of WHO
Board for Comparative Virology, Executive Secretary for the International
Committee on Animal Virus Characterization, Chairman of the National Academy of
Sciences Subcommittee on Standardized Methods for Veterinary Microbiology,
member of the NAS Task Force on Aquatic Animal Diseases, member of the NAS
Committee on Rabies, member to the International Committee on Virus
Nomenclature, and as a consultant to AID.

Through these memberships and activities Dr. York found himself traveling
extensively.  He became a student of the world and devoted himself to seeing and
reading about foreign peoples, cultures, and lands.  If he was not traveling on
business, then he was traveling personally to see the parks of the United States
and Canada, the gardens of England, the natural history of the Galapagos
Islands, or the drama of Tibet.  In his declining years as the complications of
multiple myeloma began to seriously affect his health, he refused to sit back. 
He continued to oversee his business, to develop his gardens, or to indulge in
travel such as safari to animal preserves in southern Africa and cruising down
the Yangtze River in China.

Dr. York married Rosalie Louis Taglio of Gustine, California in 1944.  Together
they had three sons and a daughter during the decade of the fifties.  Divorced
in 1974, he married his present wife, Sonia Martinez, of Osorno, Chile, in 1977.
 Both his former and present wife, his four children and ten grandchildren
survive him.


Additional Comments:
Submitted with the permission of the “Winters Express,” 312 Railroad Ave.,
Winters, CA 95694.  

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