Charles H. Hargrove

Holiday, Fla. - Charles H. Hargrove, 58, of Holiday, Fla., died on July 27, 2011, after several months' illness.

He was born Oct. 24, 1952, in Northampton, Mass., to Theodore L. and the late Barbara P. Hargrove of Sanford, Maine.

In addition to his father, he leaves a son, Travis; a daughter, Jennifer; his companion of many years, Paula Kubes, all of Florida; sisters, Mary Jane Poirier of Worcester, Mass., Tracy of Sanford and Samantha of Portland, Ore.; brothers, Christian of S. Hamilton, Mass., and Jonathan of Scituate, Mass.; three cousins and ten nieces and nephews.

Charles grew up in New London, attending public schools and Montauk Baptist Church. He played baseball, earned scholastic honors, and acted in Mitchell College plays before striking out on his own for the simple life. His quest took him throughout the country, for a time in rural Connecticut and Maine before settling in Florida. There he worked as a building contractor while raising his family and tending his gardens.

He was well read, an eloquent writer, and a penman of elegant and lucid style. To the end he retained his passion for baseball. He played well into his 40s and his year- round devotion was to the Red Sox (also, Patriots and Celtics, in season).

A private memorial service will be conducted Oct. 22, at the family home in Sanford. His ashes will be scattered on his mother's grave in Massachusetts, in the ocean off Old Orchard Beach, and on remote property he owned in rural Maine. Symbolically reuniting him, on his birthday, with the mother he loved, the sea he held in awe, and the wilderness he longed for.