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Charles James Harbaugh, known commonly as Chuck, was a therapist in the Seattle area and active in gay health issues. Born in 1946, he grew up in Seattle, Montana, and The Dalles, Oregon. He was a graduate of Seattle University and also attended Union Theological Seminary in Chicago. In the late 1960s, Harbaugh was a founding member of the Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities. In the 1970s, he worked as an alcohol counselor for the Stonewall Treatment Center, as a therapist for Eastside Community Mental Health in Bellevue, Washington, and as an investigator for the Washington State Human Rights Commission. In his private practice, Harbaugh often helped younger gays and lesbians who were struggling with sexual identity issues and social pressures.

Harbaugh served on the boards of many Seattle gay organizations, including the Northwest Aids Foundation, the Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities, the Seattle Treatment Exchange Program, the Neighborhood Health Centers of Seattle, and the Privacy Lobby. He helped found the Gay Community Center in Seattle, the Dorian Group (a gay rights organization in Seattle that focused on public education and legal reform), and Rainbow (an organization of gay deaf people in Seattle). He was also active in the Church Council of Greater Seattle, especially in its street ministry program in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, he helped found the local chapter of Shanti, an AIDS support service that paired sufferers of the disease with volunteer companions trained in grief counseling. Harbaugh died in 1995 from complications related to AIDS.