Charles M. Rohner

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CHARLES M. ROHNER : Feb. 14, 1924 – Jul. 15, 2013
Charles, or Chuck (as he preferred to be called), was appropriately born on Valentine's Day, 1924, to Margaret Harr and Charles Rohner, who had relocated from Denver, CO, to Maywood, CA.

Though Chuck was an only child, he was raised with two cousins who became more like siblings – Dorothy and Virginia Light, the daughters of Anna Rohner (his father's sister) and her husband Arthur Light, who lived close by in Glendale, CA.

As a young boy and throughout his teens, Chuck had a successful newspaper route and could often be seen riding his prized bicycle – the envy of both his cousins, whom he visited regularly to play hopscotch, jacks, or the card game, Old Maid.

In January of 1942, just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Chuck dropped out of High School to enlist in The Navy, and at the age of 17, became a signalman on the U.S.S. Achilles Naval Aircraft Carrier. Since it was a repair ship stationed in The South Pacific, the Achilles was a constant target of enemy forces. Luckily, Chuck survived multiple bombings during the Battle of Leyte in the Philippine Islands, and later, a Kamikaze plane attack off the coast of New Guinea – the pilot pulling out of his nose dive at the very last moment.

After serving two tours of duty, Chuck returned to California and purchased a modest house in a Norwalk development built for returning soldiers, and a small boat he hoped to travel far and wide in. However, when he met Lorraine Warner in 1952 - the accordion-playing daughter of a Nebraskan railroad engineer (who also knew Morse Code!), the boat was sold to pay for the wedding.

Chuck and Lorraine were a remarkable couple – kind, loving, enthusiastic, and generous. They suffered the loss of two babies at birth, from a rare bone disease, and though they never became parents as a result, the love and devotion they showed toward each other became an example to all who came in contact with them.

They also found other ways to bring children into their lives. Lorraine became a kindergarten teacher (for 40 yrs.) and sponsored a Campfire Girls' Bluebird Troop, where she met a young mother, Rosemary Reeves, who became a lifelong friend. Chuck worked in the automotive department of Sears Roebuck (for 35 yrs.), accumulating an impressive collection of tools he was always willing to share. He became every child's favorite 'uncle', even if they weren't related.

Chuck and Lorraine were devoted church members (he a Catholic, she an Episcopalian), so in a spirit of compromise, they alternated weekly between the two. In later years, they found a greater sense of community at St. Francis, under the gentle guidance of Father Russell.

They also shared a love of trains and the once-popular sleeping compartment (neither of them cared for planes), and over the years, took many trips by train to visit friends and relatives in Nebraska, Colorado and Arizona.

They belonged to several organizations - like the Organ Music Lessons Group, The Old Timers, and the Travel Dinner Club, which met at a different ethnic restaurant each month, to watch a movie about the culture and sample the cuisine. It was their way of traveling the world together.

Following a serious neck injury on the job, Chuck accepted an early retirement from Sears and began visiting and running errands for the older folks in his neighborhood – taking them food or exchanging plant clippings from the garden, a new hobby he had adopted. He sometimes spent hours in his backyard, perched on a rolling chair, moving between the garage and his planters, while conversing over the fence with his good neighbor, Lyle Wilbur, who had served in the Korean War.

On August 15th of 2002, Chuck and Lorraine celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary by taking a train to Ventura, CA, and renewing their vows in front of the same priest who had married them 50 years earlier. The ceremony was witnessed by Chuck's original Best Man, along with Dorothy Light's daughter, Marsha Mann, and her husband, Radames Pera.

Lorraine unexpectedly passed two years later, leaving Chuck in a state of grief most thought he wouldn't survive. Though already in his eighties, he rallied and stayed active in the community for several more years – always in service to others, with a sunny, positive attitude.

In his final years, as his health declined, due in large part to a collapsed spine, he was able to remain in his cherished home with the help of his friends, Rosemary & George Reeves, Lyle & Janice Wilbur, caregiver JoJo Edozie, longtime housekeeper and friend, Yolanda Ramas, and his cousin Marsha.

Chuck Rohner was both a patriot who believed in America, and the embodiment of his Catholic values: kindness, charity, and service. He died peacefully at 89 years of age, on the evening of July 15th, 2013 at Downey Regional Hospital, with friends and family attending to him - reunited at last with his 'honey dear', Lorraine Warner.