Deceased September 13, 2019

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In Memory

Charlie passed away Sept. 13 from complications of lymphoma. Raised in Duane in northern New York, he attended Northwood School in Lake Placid. At Amherst, he majored in dramatic arts and was a member of the football, hockey and swimming teams. He was also the manager of WAMF and president of the Outing Club. At the end of his junior year, he married Betsy Wright, his wife of 64 years.

After college, the Morgans moved to New Jersey, and Charlie began his lifelong career as an investment adviser. By 1958 he had joined Bache and Co., and in the mid-1970s he moved to their Syracuse, N.Y., office.

Charlie served on many charitable boards, and unlike some who collect board memberships like trophies, Charlie was a dedicated worker, being especially supportive of Crouse Hospital, Syracuse Symphony, Syracuse Stage, Cazenovia College and Lemoyne College.

Well into his 70s, Charlie was very active physically, climbing the high peaks of the Adirondacks long after earlier climbing all 46 peaks greater than 4,000 feet.

Gregarious and congenial, he could walk into a room of strangers and light it up. His knowledge and interest in many subjects made him a great guest anywhere. Charlie was at home both in a Victorian drawing room and with a group of Millennials. A gentleman in the finest sense of the word, he was generous with his time, friendship and charitable giving.

Charlie’s passing reminds us all how much he contributed and how greatly we feel his loss. The words of the “Senior Song” seem appropriate now: Gather closer, hand to hand, / The time draws near when we must part, / Still the love of college days will linger / Ever in each heart.

Charlie is survived by Betsy; four children, Charles, Alexandra, Jeffery and Edward; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Arnold Poltenson ’56