Charles Parry

Charles Parry

Charles George Parry, "Mr. Chuck", 74, died peacefully December 3 at home in Chestertown following a valiant battle with bladder cancer.

He was born Feb. 19, 1936, in Moorestown, N.J., to the late Albert Middleton Parry and Ruth Hornor Parry, and graduated from Moorestown High School in 1953. He later graduated from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., class of 1957, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon and a competitor on the Colgate University Sailing Team.

Following graduation from Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. After marrying his wife, Linda Platt, in 1964, he became an employee of Reliance Insurance Company in Philadelphia, Pa., and worked for 36 years in offices in Philadelphia, Pa.; Montclair, Wayne and Haddonfield, N.J.; Detroit, Mich.; Manhattan, N.Y.; and Radnor, Pa. He became a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter in 1975, and retired as the company's Senior Compliance Officer in 2000.

A lifetime sailing enthusiast, he spent his childhood summers at the Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, N.J., and later was a member and board member at the Island Heights Yacht Club, Island Heights, N.J. He was also an experienced boat builder, crafting boats ranging in size from Penguins, Optimists and dinghies to a 26-ft. one-design keel boat, "Gardyloo," which is still raced in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay out of Annapolis under different ownership.

He became commodore of the Rock Hall Yacht Club in 2002 and served in that capacity for four years. During his tenure, he founded the Rock Hall Yacht Club Sailing School (RHYCSS) for children from age five to 14. Since the sailing school's creation, he passed his love of sailing to more than 670 students, who called him "Mr. Chuck". He also counted many adults among his spare-time students. One of his proudest achievements was bringing the USA Junior Olympic Chesapeake Bay Open Sailing Festival to the Rock Hall Yacht Club in July of 2010.

A direct descendant of William Penn's secretary, James Logan, he was a lifelong Quaker, whose family roots run deep in the Delaware Valley.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two siblings, Patricia Parry Howell and Kirk Hornor Parry.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Linda Parry; three children, Albert Edward Parry and his wife Melissa, Vanessa Parry Ross and her husband Glenn, and Kathryn Parry Mathis and her husband Michael; seven grandchildren, Steven James Mathis, Lauren Elizabeth Mathis and Matthew Charles Mathis, Nicholas Edward Parry, Alexandra Middleton Parry, Caroline Geisel Parry and Cameron Louise Parry; two sisters, Kathryn Parry Martin, and Logan Parry Hottle and her husband Will; four nephews, Jeffrey Scott Powell, Alan Parry Martin, James Logan Martin and Charles Kirk Parry II, and their wives and families; and three cousins, Jack Hornor, David Hornor and Pamela Hornor.

A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 17 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 7579 Sandy Bottom Road, Chestertown. A dessert reception will follow the service at the Rock Hall Yacht Club, 22759 McKinleyville Road, Rock Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made at Mr. Parry's wishes to the RHYC Sailing School, P.O. Box 163, Chestertown, MD 21620. Funeral arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, Chestertown. www.fhnfuneralhome.com