Deceased July 6, 2018
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In Memory
Chuck was part of the large group in our class from Shaker Heights High School. At Amherst he was an economics major and a Phi Gam. Chuck was active in several activities including the crew, Glee Club, debating council and WAMF.
After college Chuck earned an M.S. in industrial management from MIT and then started a career in marketing and research. This took him from Metal & Thermit Co. to Pfizer to Glidden Durkee and finally to Stouffer Corp. There Chuck ended up as corporate director of marketing and research. Among his many successes was developing a retail product line of institutional frozen hors d’oeuvres for Durkee. This earned him the nickname of Hors d’oeuvres King of Durkee.
In 1980 Chuck saw no future at Stouffer so set up his own company, Cambridge Associates, which he ran himself. However, in 1998, Chuck suffered a fall from a ladder while trimming a tree, resulting in a hospital stay of several months. Although he suffered some brain damage and had to learn how to work and write again, Chuck was able to regain some semblance of a normal life. He moved to the Boston area to be near several of his children, with whom he would spend holidays. He owned a string of candy vending machines.
In recent years, as his health declined, Chuck lived in an assisted-living facility and then a nursing home for the past three years. He died peacefully in his sleep on July 6, at age 84. Until his head injury, Chuck played tennis and rode his bicycle. His hobby was gardening.
Many of us remember Chuck as the morning headwaiter in the Garden section of Valentine Hall. He attended both our 20th and 25th class reunions. Chuck is survived by three children.
Rob Sowersby ’55