Charles Edward Hartford, known to friends and family as Charlie, died at home on Sunday, April 17, 2022, surrounded by his family. Charlie was 92 years old.
Charlie was born in Newton, KS in 1930 to Harry and Leona Hartford, the youngest of three children. He was the son of a WWI veteran, the grandson of a Civil War veteran, and the brother of a WWII veteran. He was drafted into the Army during the Korean War and served stateside designing field equipment. He graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in mechanical engineering and remained a passionate alumni for the rest of his life.
In 1952, Charlie married Lillian McGill in Junction City, KS. They had two children, Gail and David, and moved to Greenville, TX in 1967. In Greenville, Charlie worked for E-Systems as an aerospace engineer for over 20 years. After he retired, he kept a strict routine of hobbies: walking, gardening, crosswords, and golf. He could be found daily at The Oaks Country Club with his friends. Charlie was known for making the perfect key lime pie and his family devoured his homemade spelt bread.
Charlie and Lillian enjoyed traveling. In 1989, Charlie and Lillian took their two kids and (then) three grandkids to Port Aransas, which started a yearly tradition of family trips to the beach that lasted over 30 years and still continues. Everyone in the family agrees that it was these annual trips that created such a close family bond.
Charlie was preceded in death by his parents, his brother John Hartford and his sister Mayetta Parr. He is survived by an adoring family: his wife of 70 years, Lillian, his daughter, Gail Richardson and son-in-law Mike Richardson of Rockwall, son David and daughter-in-law Sami of Greenville, grandchildren Alyse Sheridan and husband Edmund of Rockwall, Aja Hartford and wife Meshea of Rockwall, Dylan Loving and wife Linda of Royse City, Bayli Parr and husband Boe of Caddo Mills, and great-grandchildren Maude and Meabh Sheridan, Londra, Charles Theory, and Atlas Hartford, Charlotte Loving, and Channing, Brecken, and Huxley Parr.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, April 22, from 4-7 PM at The Oaks Country Club in Greenville.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to International Myeloma Foundation, 12650 Riverside Drive, Suite 206, North Hollywood, California, 91607 or at their website, www.myeloma.org .
