CHARLES BERGOFFEN

BERGOFFEN--Charles R., of Manhattan, died on Friday at 97. Born to Julian and Florence Bergoffen in Brooklyn, the cherished younger brother of Dorothy, Charles graduated from the University of Nebraska and Yale Law School, where he was managing editor of the law review. On a blind date he met Judy Goldsmith; they married in 1954 and remained inseparable until Judy's death in 2022. After serving in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the US Air Force in Columbus, OH, he returned to New York, where he practiced law for five decades. He was admired by his colleagues, as well as his fellow volunteers at the humanitarian organization Foster Parents' Plan. Charles was a lover of musicals, movies, literature, and the Great American Songbook, an avid Dodgers-turned-Mets fan, and a crossword puzzler extraordinaire who easily knocked off the Saturday in pen. He is survived by his children, Nathan (Sulena), John (Eleanor), and Ruth (Barry); his grandchildren, Milan, Melissa, Hannah, John Charles, and Samuel; and his great-granddaughter, Emma. Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 9, 2026, at 11:30 AM, Temple Emanu-El, Fifth Ave. at 65th St. Donations in Charles's honor can be made to Goddard Riverside at goddard.org.