Southern Sierran
Passages

Abbye Stockton, 1917-2006

“Pudgy,” as she was known among her fellow weight-lifting and physical fitness aficionados, passed away at the age of 88 on June 26th from complications from Alzheimer’s Disease. She was the widow of Les Stockton, who died in April 2004.

The Stocktons met at what is known today as “Muscle Beach” in Santa Monica. Pudge was pivotal in gaining approval for the idea that women could maintain their femininity while developing physical strength. She even wrote a column in Strength and Health Magazine—then the most popular fitness periodical in the world.

Abbye Stockton received the Steve Reeves International Society Pioneer Award in 1998, followed two years later by her election to the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Hall of Fame.

Abbye joined in many of Les’ hikes with the Sierra Club, and on June 6, 1972 she climbed her One Hundredth Peak to obtain Emblem Status in the Hundred Peaks Section. The Stockton’s daughter, Laura, continues to be an active member of the HPS.

Charlie Jones on the trail in 1975 -- Photo Courtesy of Dick Worsfold

Charles Jones, 1918-2006

Charles Buford Jones, or Charlie to those who knew him, passed away January 18, after a series of strokes. He had been active in the Angeles Chapter since the 1960s, particularly with the Hundred Peaks Section (HPS) and the Trails Committee.

Charlie and his four children— Bruce, Laura, Emily, and Sarah—with wife Vivian Janice James, became a fixture on HPS outings. Under his guidance as Vice-Chair of the HPS, the number of outings grew enormously, helping make the HPS the most active climbing section in the chapter, a legacy that continues today.

Charlie was a founder of the San Gabriel Mountain Trail Builders and volunteered with members of the Boy Scouts, inner city kids, and the Chinese- American Outdoor Club, among others. He was a trail builder for the U.S. Forest Service and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1993 for volunteering more than 1000 hours of service. By 2003, Charlie received the President’s Call to Service Award for 4000 hours of volunteer work. Charlie was also awarded the HPS John Backus Leadership Award (1977), an Angeles Chapter Outings Service Award (1985), and the Angeles Chapter Special Service Award (1989). Charlie is also survived by daughter, Carol Duemler Jones, and three grandchildren.

-Robert Cates, Angeles Chapter History Committee Chair

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