Charles Louis Richen Jr.

Charles Louis Richen Jr. passed away on Wednesday, September 24 th, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 99. He was born on December 29 th, 1925 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Charles Richen Sr. and Esther (nee Stutzman) Richen.

Charles entered the United States Navy immediately after high school in Cincinnati. He served as a Signalman Second Class on a small landing ship, LSM-391, an amphibious seagoing vessel which held 35-40 crew. He trained in Illinois and Virginia. Charles then traveled through the Panama Canal to Long Beach, California. In September of 1944, he left for Pearl Harbor. As a Signalman, he was in charge of sending messages to other ships by morse code using a signal light or a yardarm signal light or various flags that could be hoisted up on the yardarms. They sailed to various islands in the Pacific that were no longer under Japanese control. He was in the Philippines when the atomic bomb was dropped to end the war. He luckily was not in Pearl Harbor!

After his time in the Navy, Charles worked for 32 years at General Electric as a Draftsman. He loved woodworking, camping, hiking, and traveling.

Charles is survived by his daughters, Peggy (Stanley) Kent and Barbara (Richard Fauver) Klever, grandchildren, Justin (Nicole Villegas) Smith, Stacey Smith, Alison (Hunter Gray) Kent, and James (Catie Rauhala) Kent.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Libby (nee Peterson) Richen, his parents, and sisters, Betty Hicks and Mary Hughes.

In honor of Charles, consider donating a tree in his honor by visiting A Living Tribute at https://shop.alivingtribute.org/products/plant-a-tree-photo-card.