Charles H. Wood Jr.

Charles Henry Wood, Jr., age 88, of Hampton, New Hampshire died April 26, 2023. He was the son of the late Charles Henry Wood and the late Elizabeth Taylor Marsh Wood, long-term residents of Georgetown, South Carolina. Charles’s wife, Jean Margaret Nave, died in 1967 from the long-term consequences of a childhood disease. His twin brother, John,died in 2008 and his sister, Patricia Wood Harrelson, also a longtime resident of Georgetown, South Carolina, died in 2012. Charles is survived by a daughter, Barbara Jean Wood of Clearwater, Florida, a son, Douglas John Wood and his wife, Kim Wood, of Stratham, New Hampshire and two granddaughters, Julia Wood (fiancé Ryan Boyle) and Natasha Ouimette (husband MitchellOuimette). A third granddaughter, Melissa Jean, God's gift to everyone who knew her, passed at the unfortunate age of 13. Charles also leaves behind many close cousins, nieces and nephews. Charles was a resident of Westfield, New Jersey until age 11 when the family moved to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, just west of Harrisburg. Midway into his High School junior year, the family moved to New Hartford, New York, a suburb of Utica. Charles and his brother graduated from New Hartford High School in 1952. Charles earned his radio Amateur’s license while in high school. His father, an accountant by profession, was his Morse code practice partner and earned his radio amateur’s licensetoo. Charles also ran track and lettered in the then 880 yard event, now the 800 meter event. Charles graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He also earned his First-class radio-telephone license while in college. Charles joined the Radio-TV division of Westinghouse Electric Corp., Metuchen, New Jersey upon graduation. There, in the Advanced Development Section, he worked on early color TV sets and the first Westinghouse TV remote control. Two years later he transferred to the Westinghouse Defense Electronics division in Baltimore, Maryland. Charles lived in Glen Burnie, Maryland for 14 years. He married JeanNave, a schoolteacher, while living there and both their children were born in Baltimore. His principal pastimes were coin collecting, flying as a private pilot and coaching Little League baseball where he rose to President. His wife died while they were residents of Maryland. Charles accepted a 3-1/2 year Westinghouse assignment in Iran in 1974, when the Shah was still in power. On return to the U.S. in 1977, he accepted a position at the Westinghouse Research & Development center in Churchill, Pennsylvania.They lived in Plum Borough, east of Pittsburgh. He completed his 35-year career with Westinghouse in 1992. He was an avid Pittsburgh Pirate fan, attending twenty or so games annually. On retirement he moved to a small home in Lavallette, New Jersey, a five-minute walk to the beach. The Jersey shore was his favorite vacation destination since childhood. The warm, snow-free weather of Florida finally beckoned and in 1998 he moved to Fort Myers. Never one to live in one place too long, he moved multiple times during retirement also living in High Point, North Carolina; The Villages, Florida; Clearwater, Florida; Largo,Florida; Clearwater, Florida (again); Stratham,New Hampshire and finally Hampton, New Hampshire. In retirement, glaucoma, a family disease, ended his plans of resuming flying. He devoted his free time to family, traveling, genealogy, developing and launching DC-3 Airways, a web-based virtual airline, and publishing a novel titled The Messenger. One or more dogs have been his constant companion during childhood and since 1962, except while in Iran. Charles freely gave his time and resources to helping children. He believed in helping individuals rather than a faceless organization. He bought Christmas gifts for local,underprivileged children and sponsored the educations of two boys, now men, Pio and Pro,in Sri Lanka; and one boy, also now grown,Gabby, in the Philippines. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local children’s food insecurity organization,like End 68 Hours of Hunger. Rest in peace. Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Charles for a funeral service on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. in the Remick and Gendron Funeral Home, 811 Lafayette Road, Hampton, NH 03842. Charles will be laid to rest on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. in the Ocean County Memorial Park, 1722 Silverton Rd, Toms River, NJ.

Charles H. Wood Jr.

September 26, 1934 - April 26, 2023