Yolo-San Mateo-Sacramento County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....SODERQUIST , Charles "Charley"  March 3 2004
**********************************************************
Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/obits/ca/obitsca.htm
**********************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Peggy B. Perazzo pbperazzo@comcast.net June 30, 2004, 10:27 pm

"The Davis Enterprise," Thursday, March 4, 2004
Charles Soderquist

By Sharon Stello, Enterprise staff writer

Charles "Charley" Soderquist, a businessman and philanthropist who donated
countless amounts of time and money to UC Davis, other community organizations
and environmental protection efforts, died Tuesday, March 3, 2004.

Soderquist, 57, suffered a brain hemorrhage and died 12 days later at Sutter
General Hospital in Sacramento. He lived next to the Sacramento River in the
Natomas area.

A successful businessman, Soderquist founded the Technology Development Center,
a business "incubator" that helped fund startup technology companies.

Soderquist was a generous UC Davis donor; among his gifts was $250,000 to build
the Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center. He also funded the Soderquist-Snyder
Distinguished Speaker Series, which brought writer John McPhee to campus in the
fall, and he spearheaded a campaign to build a new research center at Lake Tahoe.

His generosity extended far beyond money. He was chairman of the UC Davis
Foundation, finishing a two-year term started in 2002. He served as president of
the Cal Aggie Alumni Association from 1996-98 and was the UCD alumni
representative on the University of California Board of Regents from 1997-98. He
also served on the UC Davis Connect board of directors as well as numerous
boards for community organizations and private companies.

UCD spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said today that Soderquist supported virtually every
aspect of the university. In addition to his philanthropy and volunteerism, he
taught entrepreneurship courses at the UCD Graduate School of Management.

"He was one of the biggest advocates for the university we have ever had," Lapin
said. "It was more than his money, it was the devotion of his time and energy
and enthusiasm. Charley didn't do things for recognition, he did them for the
possibilities of the future.

"He was just unbelievably kind and generous and gracious," Lapin said. "At the
same time, he had a cantankerous nature. When he saw things he thought the
university wasn't doing well, he pointed them out. He didn't hesitate to do that."

The exact amount of his monetary contributions to the campus is unknown.

"It's not something we've tabulated," Lapin said, adding that Soderquist was
known to give money whenever he noticed a need. Lapin said he once walked into a
university department, saw a broken-down copy machine and donated money on the
spot to buy a new one.

UCD Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef said in a statement that Soderquist decided more
than a decade ago that he was going to add the university to his "causes."

"He went at it analytically, like the good businessman that he was, learning
through service on the Foundation and Alumni Association boards," Vanderhoef
said. "We laughed many times together about what he one time called the
'blundering, boggling, bungling' policies and academic traditions of the
university to which he was giving hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"He seemed noticeably more understanding, though never entirely, after his
two-year stint as a UC regent," Vanderhoef continued. "One thing was certain,
though - through it all he had proud, grateful, fond feelings for the faculty,
the history and the hopeful intentions of UC Davis. He was generous with his
time and money and he wanted to help.

"That, finally, was what Charley was - a caring man who wanted to help. I can't
quite imagine our campus without him."

Celeste Rose, vice chancellor of university relations, said today, "The
university has lost a true friend."

"There's no question that he cared for the university and he gave very
generously of his time and his treasure and his talent," Rose said. "He always
wanted us to be better, so he was also generous in his constructive criticism.
He will be sorely missed."

Rose recalled the way Soderquist, with his ponytail and relaxed attitude,
contrasted sharply with other UC regents. But he quickly gained the respect of
all, she said.

UCD English professor Jack Hicks, a close friend of Soderquist, noted his many
interests from science to business to the environment and literature.

"Charley Soderquist was a renaissance man in the true sense," Hicks said.

Among his many talents, Soderquist was also an author. He wrote two books, "The
Waring Blender" and "Sturgeon Tales: Stories of the Delta," a series of
meditations and essays about life on the river told through conversations with
characters including a sturgeon and a beer-drinking river rat.

Soderquist's wife, Jan Goggans, said he was dedicated to the university because
"it changed his life." Goggans said the university helped him develop a clear
sense of his own value and what he could do in the world.

"He had the biggest heart of anybody I've ever met," she said. "He was very
funny,  he delighted in breaking rules and getting things done."

Family and friends said Soderquist also loved the Delta and the natural
environment.

"He loves the river passionately, like a wife," Goggans said.

In recent years, Goggans said he put his heart and soul into environmental work.
He became very active with the Nature Conservancy and was instrumental in a
large land purchase for the Sacramento Valley Conservancy. He was also a
consultant with the Resources Law Group, where he helped to negotiate buffer
zones and land purchases, and he donated to the Sacramento Regional Community
Foundation to provide grants to community land projects, Goggans said.

Born on Jan. 9, 1947, in San Carlos, Soderquist completed his undergraduate work
at San Francisco State University. At UC Davis, he earned a master's degree in
1973 and a doctorate in environmental chemistry in 1978.

He was the founder and handyman at East Davis Hot Tub Works and then, along with
Paul Taylor and Tony Wong of UCD, founded Cal Labs, which he epitomized on his
license plate as "BMF LAB."

Soderquist started the Technology Development Center and associated seed-stage
investment funds. He also founded and led several dozen companies, many
spin-offs from UCD endeavors.

He served on boards of community organizations including KVIE Channel 6, the PBS
station in Sacramento; the California Historical Society; and Audubon
California. And he served on numerous boards for private companies including
Lipomics and Hayes Medical. He received several dozen awards for his university
involvement, business and philanthropy.

Soderquist is survived by his wife, Jan Goggans; his daughter, Jessica and her
husband Paul Giannini and their children Olivia, 3, and Henry, 1, of Portland,
Ore.; his son Chris and his wife Karen and their children Scott, 4, and Ty, 1,
of Sacramento; his stepdaughter, Ellen Probst of Sacramento; and his brother,
John and his wife Lisa.


Additional Comments:
Submitted with the permission of the "The Davis Enterprise," 315 G Street,
Davis, CA 95616.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/yolo/obits/gob449soderqui.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/caobfiles/

File size: 7.5 Kb