Charles E. Rinaldi

Covazone was an Italian Easter tradition in our household. It consisted of hot Italian sausage, swiss cheese, locatelli cheese and here's the kicker - - - - - - 28 eggs! Some were raw and some were hard boiled. I would mix the filling and Anna Marie would make the dough. She was good at dough - after all she worked in a bank for over 40 years! All of this would go into a 12x17 pan. It was very heavy to put into the oven. This covazone was very delicious! However, it was bad for you. We...

Charles & Joanne loved to travel. They went to Italy, many cruises and other countries. What they enjoyed most was to go on gambling jaunts. I remember Anna Marie and I went with them one year to Las Vegas. We were going to one of the famous casinos for dinner. We did not have reservations but Charles told the maitred that we wanted a table at the window so we could see all the city lights while dining. The maitred said to follow him, When Charles saw that he was taking us to a corner,...

Charles loved automobiles! He would always attend the car shows when they came to town. When Anna Marie was ready to purchase a car Charles went with her to give her some pointers and how to get the best price possible. Even after Charles bought his own car, he will still go to car dealers to look at the new models. We always thought Charles would become a car salesman but he earned his career as an insurance salesman for Western-Southern. He was very personable and enjoyed talking to...

Charles loved desserts! His favorite dessert was "Aunt Vi" Cake. This was a swiss chocolate cake. Each layer was cut in half with a string and filled with cooked chocolate pudding. On the top was real whipped cream and chopped walnuts. Anna Marie made this cake for Charles every year after Aunt Vi passed away. Charles was in the hospital on his 78th birthday. His enjoyed his last Aunt Vi cake on May 12th, his 77th birthday.

When we were young, my dad asked each of us if we would like to play an instrument. Charles said he wanted to play drums. My dad said "drums"? How about the triangle? No -I want to play drums! My dad said that he used to play the harmonica and that made nice music. Charles said - No triangle- no harmonica - I want to play the drums! My dad finally enrolled Charles for drum lessons. His drum instructor gave him a round piece of wood with a rubber pad on it to practice. This device...

As most young boys in those days, Charles had a paper route. This was another job where Charles had to get up early. I actually helped him at times. He taught me how to fold the newspapers. The papers weren't just rolled up and put in plastic bags like now. Newspapers were heavy back then. Today, there are just a few pages and it cost $5.00! Charles was also a caddy at the Golf Course. He didn't like the game of golf. He didn't know a putter from a 9 iron. He thought if he would...

When we were about 8 years old, my dad would take us one at a time to Farmers Market to see Farmer Brown. I doubt if that was his real name but if my dad said he was Farmer Brown, then Farmer Brown he was. Charles had to get up at 4:00 A.M. to go to the market. My dad purchased pecks, half-bushels and bushels of fruits and vegetables to feed his family of six. He mostly bought tomatoes because our entire family took part every Labor Day canning tomatoes. Another item he purchased were...

Uncle Chuck we love you and had a great two week visit. Mom and I are truly sad that we will not be there to send you off on the next part of your journey but we are with you always. Caroline

Uncle Chuck - thank you for all the laughs on Thanksgiving! You will be truly missed. Love Jana And Randy