Charles P. Estram

Charles Estram Obituary

88, of Lexington Street, Woburn, MA, died peacefully Sunday at RI Hospital with family and friends at his side. He was the husband of the late Audrey (Sullivan) Estram. Born in Chicago, IL, he was a son of the late Kajtonis & Konstance (Gerve) Stromski. He seved proudly in the US Army Signal Corps in WWII with his late brother, George V. Estram. He was a photography student in the Bauhaus Institute of Design in Chicago and had a lifelong career in the personnel industry until his retirement a few years ago. He was an avid racquetball player. Charlie is survived by his daughters, Elyn Fox (Richard) of Smithfield, RI, Jeanne Bashore (Ronnie) of Billerica, MA and his adoring granddaughters, Rachel Fox and Crystal Bashore. Burial with Military Honors will be held at Mass. National Cemetery, Bourne, MA on Thursday, August 7 at 11:15 am. In lieu of flowers, donations in Charlie's name may be made to the VA Hospital, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730. For messages of condolence and directions visit www.andersonwinfield.net

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Published by Boston Globe on Aug. 6, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for Charles Estram

5 Entries

Deb Natale

December 22, 2008

To Charlie's Family:

I just learned of his passing and it saddens me, I worked with Charlie at B&M and always enjoyed his wit and sense of humor and the fact that he stayed in touch with the "B&M" gang over the years, it was great when we got to see him and like Cathy said last time in 2006, what a great guy, and will be missed.

Catherine Figucia

December 16, 2008

Dear Elyn, Jeanne, and families,
I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your father. I just became aware that he was no longer at the Lexington St. address when I tried to contact our B&M former employees for a get together. Unfortunately the last time we gathered was in June of 2006. He was able to participate and we enjoyed our visit with him.

He loved and was so proud of his family and grandchildren and their accomplishments.

Please accept our deepest condolences. May God grant you his peace at this most difficult time.

Mike Casey

August 10, 2008

Mr. Estram,
Sir, I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country when you served in the U.S. Army during WW II and for being a member of the Greatest Generation. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.

Papa at York Beach, Maine - July 2007

Jeanne Bashore

August 6, 2008

Jeanne Your "Little Monkey"

August 5, 2008

Dear Dad, Daddy & Papa,

Ramblings of an adult child who will never be willing to let go….

We are all missing you greatly. You have been and continue to be a loving influence in our hearts and lives and those of every other fortunate person (or animal) that has ever been blessed enough to have known or even crossed paths with you. You know Dad, I am writing this to you, from me, Ronnie & Crystal, like you were sitting there reading this. However, even though, I know, I own my own certifiability, I do believe that you do know all that there is going on with all of us. You have touched each and every one of us. This is a very comforting feeling for us to know in our hearts, that you are indeed still with us.

When Elyn & I were young, you were there for it all. When we were happy, sad, healthy or sick, whenever, it did not matter, you were there for us. As we grew, nothing ever changed, you were there always and later happily opened your arms and heart to your two sons-in-laws and then two beautiful and loving granddaughters, Rachel and Crystal Bleu - both the apples of their Papa's eyes.

Dad, you had a way of winning the hearts of many "children" or "grandchildren" along the way. I do not know how many that you had but, there are way too numerous to even attempt to count. These children were drawn to you instantly by your warm smile and sparkling eyes. Once there, near you, and your endearing kindness, you were stuck. Many have adopted you as an Honorary “Dad” or “Papa.” I know a few who still, as young adults, refer to you as their Papa. To me, I feel honored to have been able to share you with them. Jordy was one who you touched deeply. She will never forget you.

Dad, thank you for never giving up on Mom. She would never have had the amount of quality years left after her stroke had you not given your all to her.

This sounds weird but thank you Dad for Uncle George. Had you not made every effort to fly him out to care for me in the summer months, I would never have had the loving and nurturing relationship I shared with him as his “little buddy.” Uncle George and I “spoke the same language.” Those of you who knew him, understand to what I am referring. Who else would eat the concoctions Cheryl and I would come up with for lunch or snacks every day? Believe me, some truly were not very palatable. They did not even look as if they had a chance. The worst, I believe, might have been our “signature dish” the tuna and peanut butter with flour baked on saltine crackers that we made and he ate with a grin. (He hated tuna to boot!) He did put up with more than his share with Cheryl and me.

I know I am rambling but, just a little more.

Dad, I always loved our trips to the Cape, Old Orchard Beach, York Beach and even Florida despite the snoring issue… Last summer was the best yet. We all gained some very special memories that will be everlasting. The day at the zoo was unbelievable! Do you think that monkey remembered you as the man who disregarded his signs stating not to feed him? We all do. Will Lydia the Elephant remember you as the man who wanted her to take small bites from the cone and wrestled her for it? No doubt! Paddleboating with Ronnie followed by a couple hours of your friend the goat and your whole club of “Ducks for Chuckie.” The goat… how many quarters worth could she eat? As many as you kept feeding her I guess. But one very amazing and beautiful thing was the butterfly who decided to light upon the brim of your “York’s Wild Kingdom” cap. Once finally figuring out it was not part of your cap, I felt as if Mom, whose ashes were spread nearby, was stopping by to say hi. I thought that butterfly was not going to allow us to leave. It had to be on your cap a good 15-20 minutes.

You used to complain about our pets and other animals but it was you
they were attracted to the most. Not one of my many pets has not tried to steal your affection away at some point every time they got to see you. You would sneeze and growl but then when nobody was looking, you would reach out and pet one or more of my four-footed children or suddenly they would appear in your lap. Xanadu loved to come to your apartment to visit you when he was allowed. Sami happily snuggled in your arms or chewed your hair. Qi Gong thought he owned you.

Dad, there’s the children, the grandchildren, both your own or those who adopted you, the animals too but we cannot leave out your many special friends, from long ago and now (some so very special you still tried to see daily), coworkers, friends from racquetball or the YMCA, golfing buddies, the library ladies (who made a point of putting special books aside for you), church and the list goes on. Nobody has gone untouched by your love.

One very comforting thing is that you are now at peace and rejoined with Mom, Uncle George, Mimi and Gramps to name a few. Please do us a favor and stop in and say hi somewhere between church, racquetball, ball games, the original YMCA, and golfing with Mr. Neri. An occasional appearance in any form would be comforting. Oh, and one other thing, I would give anything to hear you sing just one more time and this time for me to remember ALL of the words to, “… poop, poop, didam, dadum, wa ta, ma chu and they twam and they twam all over the dam.”

Hope to see you in my dreams Daddy.

Love,
Your “Little Monkey”