PORT TOWNSEND — Many people knew Charles Zenith Kuder, but only from his wave.
He was often simply known as “The Waving Man.”
With headphones on and a backpack strapped to his shoulders, Kuder often walked along Sims Way, down Water Street, through Fort Worden State Park and back again to his trailer just outside the city limit — waving at each car that passed by.
“He used to tell me, ‘I’m kind of famous around here, you know,”‘ his youngest sister, Chris Durre of Gig Harbor, said.
She recalled he once told her: “Most people wave back. “Once in a while there’s a sourpuss, but I don’t let them bother me.”
Kuder, who preferred to go by his middle name, Zenith, or simply Zene, died last month, leaving the streets of Port Townsend a little less friendly.
That’s the impression of Larry and Daphne Kilburn, who this week remembered The Waving Man, who died of what his family said were natural causes two weeks ago.
It’s strange how something as simple as a signature wave could make a person a celebrity, the Kilburns said.
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