Charles KOBLENTZ

Charles Koblentz, 93, died on April 30. Born in Chicago, he married his college sweetheart, Evelyn Dunn, in 1939, and soon moved with her to Washington, DC. There, his career advanced quickly as he conducted personnel management studies for various federal government agencies. During World War II, he served his country in the Office of Statistical Control at the Pentagon with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer, USAAF. Post-War, he returned to the federal government, where he planned and conducted a reorganization of the FCC. His challenging and fulfilling government career was cut short, however, when he was investigated in the late 1940's by the House Un-American Activities Committee on grounds of "guilt by association." At the ensuing hearing, he was exonerated of all charges. In 1950, Charles joined a prominent management consulting firm but was dismissed when the firm learned he had once been investigated by HUAC. Throughout much of the 1950's and 1960's, Charles, determined to provide for his family, which by then included four young children, worked at jobs dictated not by choice but by the constraints imposed by blacklisting. Rising above the trauma inflicted by the McCarthy years, in 1966 he joined American Trading and Production Company, where he rose to Executive Vice President for the Industrial Group and served on the Board of Directors. After retiring from ATAPCO in 1993 at age 75, he moved to Longboat Key, FL, where he enjoyed his life-long enthusiasm for long walks that began as a boy in Chicago. He continued to maintain a home in Baltimore, MD, and later in White Plains, NY. In addition to foreign travels with Evelyn, he took lively trips in his 9th decade and the beginning of his 10th with sons Joel and Gerald. He wore them out walking over the bridges of Venice, up and down the hills of Montmartre and through the temples at Ramses II. A keen intellect with a strong interest in the social, economic, and political forces that shape history, Charles read widely and wrote a chronicle that set the events of his own life within the context of the times in which he lived. The saddest experience of his life was the loss of his son Paul in 1982. The people who knew Charles, whether for decades or in the brief interactions of day-to-day encounters, recognized a charismatic person of evident goodwill towards them in how he treated them, listened, and spoke. The memory of Charles, particularly his strength of character, intelligence, moral integrity, and devotion, will be cherished by friends, relatives, and former colleagues, as well as by those in his immediate family, whom he loved so much: Evelyn, his devoted wife of 71 years; children, Joel, Suzanne Goodman (Jordan), and Gerald; grandsons, Gregory Koblentz (Linda Fu) and Jason Goodman; and great-grandsons, Kai and Evan Koblentz. Funeral services will be held at noon, on May 3, Waterbury & Kelly Funeral Home, 1300 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Charles' most favored charity.