Charles Henry Wittenberg

1935 - 2021

Wittenberg, Charles (Charlie) Henry

86, Born April 24, 1935, passed on December 28, 2021. He was preceded in death by his father Charles, his mother Dorothy (McKenna), his brother John (Ann), and his brother Thomas. He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Loretta (Giblin), his sister Lee Renaud (nee Wittenberg) (Larry )and sons Bill (Carol), John (Eileen), and Cay Dubbels (nee Wittenberg) (Joe). He also leaves 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Charlie attended Mercy High School where he was a member and scoring leader of that school's basketball team. Charlie went on to attend Notre Dame where he was a "walk on" and played basketball for 4 years for the Fighting Irish. Not long after graduation, Charlie entered the insurance business, married his beloved wife, Loretta, and started a family.

His second love remained basketball, and he carried that love affair on until the end of his life. There is not enough space to list all of the teams he played on or the tournaments he participated in or the trophies he won. For over 40 years, he was a leading scorer and club champion in the basketball leagues of the Missouri Athletic Club and was inducted into the club's hall of fame in 1996.

Charlie was also was a winner in the world of business. He cofounded an insurance agency named CJ Thomas Co. in 1975 that thrived under the stewardship of Charlie and his partners for 45 years.

He sat on many boards in addition to his serving as president on the boards of the Missouri Athletic Club and CJ Thomas Co. In particular he served as a founding board member in 1983 of St. Patrick's Center, an important organization providing services to this day for the homeless.

Charlie had more friends from all walks of life than you can possibly imagine. He was just as nice and cordial to a retired general as he was to the employee at the club that hung up his coat. To Charlie they were people and Charlie made all the people he met feel comfortable and important.

His family will never forget the decades of Bar-BQ's by his beloved pool and the warmth, encouragement, and love he gave us all. How lucky are we to have had him in our lives.

We have created a memorial page on Facebook named Charles Wittenberg IV Memorial Page for people to share their love and favorite stories about Charlie Wittenberg, one of the good guys.

Services: Because of current public health concerns related to the pandemic, funeral services will be private but a memorial service and gathering is planned for the spring at his beloved club. The date and time will be posted on Facebook.