Deacon John Henry Charles, 75, went home to the Lord in the early morning hours of Jan. 13, with his wife, Betty, and daughter, Jennifer, by his side at their Killingworth home. John was born on Nov. 6, 1946, in Orange, New Jersey, to Catherine D. Sinniger and John W. Charles. John was a proud veteran of the Vietnam War, serving from October 1966 to December 1967.
John attended Clifton High, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and then graduated from the University of New Haven with a bachelor’s degree in operations management. He worked at Uniroyal in Passaic, New Jersey, and then was transferred to Oxford, Connecticut, to work in systems at USCO. He also worked at Stanley Corporation and ended his career at American Electro Products in Waterbury, as the systems and purchasing manager in the IT Department.
John is survived by his wife, Betty, of 51-plus years; his daughter Becky Charles and her children Joshua and Bethany and her husband Billy Bailey and their daughter Coraline of Wallingford; Jennifer and her husband Scott Torello and their children Faith, Sophia, Savannah, and Odin; and Emily and her husband Jay Messina and Emily’s stepson Andrew of Waterford. He is also survived by his beloved aunt, Theresa Gallo of California; his sister Diane Borkowski of Fair Lawn, New Jersey; his two younger brothers, Allan Charles of Mount Arlington, New Jersey, and Ronald Charles of Martinsville, New Jersey; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family would like to say a special thanks to the team at West Haven Veterans Affair Medical Center and especially Mike Sweeney at Connecticut Hospice for going above and beyond with their care and support. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, CT Chapter, 2911 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden, CT 06318 or the VACT Medical Center, Home Based Primary Care, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT 06516.
Visiting hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 North Main Street Ext., Wallingford. A final viewing will be at 11 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Jan. 20, at St. Lawrence Church, 7 Hemlock Drive, Killingworth, followed by a Mass of Christian burial at noon. Interment with military honors will be at All Saints Cemetery, 700 Middletown Avenue, North Haven. Please see his online obituary and guest book at www.wallingfordfh.com.
