Monterey Bay Aquarium co-founder Chuck Baxter dies of cancer at 94

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV)- It's a sad week for Monterey County, as we lost a second icon when Monterey Bay Aquarium co-founder Chuck Baxter passed away Friday after a long battle with cancer.

Charles H. "Chuck" Baxter was also a long-time biology lecturer emeritus at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey until his retirement in 1994.

Chuck was born in Santa Monica in 1927 and moved to Washington state when he was six years old. He returned to Santa Monica to attend community college but was drafted into the Army and served for two years after his first semester.

He then returned to college to earn an engineering degree from UCLA. He later changed his major to zoology after being invited to dive in the Pacific, which sparked his love for marine communities.

Baxter and three friends -- Steve Webster, Robin Burnett, and Nancy Packard Burnett, formed a plan to turn the crumbling Hovden's cannery building into an aquarium that would reveal the Monterey Peninsula's diverse ecosystem.

Chuck was such a remarkable person. He inspired students during his decades on the faculty at Hopkins Marine Station and contributed, through his research, to our understanding of the ocean – including the impacts of climate change on marine life. He was responsible in so many ways for the unique vision that continues to define Monterey Bay Aquarium: exhibits that introduce people to the rich habitats and multitudes of marine creatures in the bay, the attention we pay to underappreciated ocean life, and the ways we encourage a spirit of curiosity and wonder. Chuck also played an important role in shaping the research undertaken by MBARI, especially its studies of the ecology of the Monterey submarine canyon. He did it all with thoughtfulness, kindness, and a generous sense of humor. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. We extend our deepest condolences to his wonderful wife and partner Susie Harris; to his children and grandchildren; and to all the Baxter family.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was launched in 1984. Baxter worked part-time in the aquarium from 1988 until 1996 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insitute in Moss Landing. He focused on studying organisms that lived at the bottom of the underwater Monterey Canyon.