Obituary of Chuck Feltner

CHARLES E. FELTNER  ˜ 1936-2020

     Dr. Charles (Chuck) Edward Feltner, Jr., 83, of Plymouth MI, passed away peacefully of complications from COPD on February 21, 2020, on Isle of Palms SC, at his beloved winter rental home of 14 years, overlooking the ocean, with his wife, Jeri, by his side. He was born in Raleigh NC on June 5, 1936, a son of Charles Edward Feltner, Sr. and Irene Robinett Feltner.

     Chuck and Jeri Baron married in 1975 in Dearborn MI. They had a collaborative and caring relationship based on mutual support and a deep love for each other since 1969. Chuck’s indomitable spirit led to a long, productive life in the pursuit of excellence and the next mountain to climb.

     Chuck earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina State University (1958), and his MS (1959) and PhD (1963, summa cum laude) in Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois. He had 44 years of industrial experience in engineering and corporate management having worked for Ford Motor Company (retired in 1995 after 32 years), IBM Corporation, Standard Oil of Ohio, United Aircraft Corporation, and Parametric Technology Corporation (a high-tech engineering software company). Chuck also had his own consulting firm Pathfinders Consulting Services since 1997. He produced over 50 publications in engineering and scientific journals. In 1995, he was awarded an honorary “Leaders for Manufacturing” degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chuck won many awards for his contributions to engineering and his Great Lakes maritime history volunteer efforts, which included the prestigious Award for Historic Preservation from the Association of Great Lakes Maritime History in 2006 for his dedicated efforts in preserving Great Lakes maritime history since 1977.

     Chuck had many talents and facets to his life and was known as the Renaissance Man – always learning, changing, and reinventing himself. He had many hobbies and interests and was very proficient in the following endeavors over the years including model airplane building, building and racing cars, guitar playing, folk singing and writing music, golfing, avid skier (he ran a ski travel agency, United Skiers Service 1969-1974), scuba diving as a PADI Divemaster throughout the Great Lakes and oceans, fishing, boating, Great Lakes maritime history (his extensive collection of historical information was donated to Central Michigan University in 2019), researching, documenting and photographing shipwrecks and making presentations on shipwrecks throughout the Great Lakes, military history aficionado and historic gun collecting, developing his extensive tool shop, and woodworking.

     In 1993, he and his wife, Jeri, developed 20 acres of land on Drummond Island where they built their dream home on Lake Huron and lived until 2014 making cherished memories with family and friends. Since 1998, he was actively involved with the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society where he was responsible for the major 2004 restoration of the historic offshore 1931 lighthouse. Chuck was an assiduous researcher of shipwreck and lighthouse history and published many manuscripts related to Great Lakes maritime history. His landmark books “Great Lakes Maritime History: Bibliography and Sources of Information (1982), and “Shipwrecks of the Straits of Mackinac” (1991), coauthored with his wife Jeri, are still used today. Chuck was very proud of helping establish the “Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Museum” in Mackinaw City MI in 2014. Through diligent research, Chuck and his team discovered five historic shipwrecks in the Straits of Mackinac and dove and documented the shipwrecks there in the late 70s and early 80s. He was admired and respected as a mentor to many fledging Great Lakes maritime history researchers. He taught a course in the early 80s called “How to Research Great Lakes Shipwrecks” that was widely attended by many who went on to discover shipwrecks.

     Chuck was a member and Director Emeritus of the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society, Michigan Lighthouse Alliance, Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, and Association for Great Lakes Maritime History.

     A captivating storyteller of his life’s adventures, Chuck was highly motivated in inspiring others to do their best with his motto “measure twice, cut once”. He was a consummate teacher and mentor.

     Chuck traveled extensively having visited 53 countries mainly during his professional career. His father, a civil engineer and expert in beach erosion, was in the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps where he and his family lived up and down the Atlantic Coast including Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island SC, where Chuck’s father was stationed during World War II and where Chuck went to school in the first, second and third grades. This indelible experience led Chuck and his wife, Jeri, to the area as their winter retreat since 2006.

     Chuck is survived by his beloved wife and partner of 50 years, Geraldine (Jeri) Kay Baron Feltner, dearly loved children of whom he was so proud - Charles Derek Feltner of Royal Oak MI, Douglas Eric (Shauna Turnbull) Feltner of Novi MI, and Mark Warren (Brenda) Feltner of Chesapeake VA; former spouse and mother of Derek, Doug and Mark, Anna McCann Feltner, of Sarasota FL; grandchildren Eleanor Meade (Graham) Stiff, Caitlin McCann Feltner, Grace Emily Feltner, Carolanna Kay Feltner, and Audry Lynn Feltner; nieces and nephews Helen (Robin) Robinett (Ron) Vick, Susan Lynette (Barry) Harmon, John Earl (Penny) Higgins, Jr., Cheryl Annette Alexander, Cecilia Irene (David Croteau) Kirkman, Charles Gordon Kirkman III, Karen Rebecca Kirkman, Kevin Clyde Kirkman, Robert Mark Lyons, Gary Donald Lyons. Timothy Lawrence Baron, Jessica Hope Zick, and Zachary Edward Lyons; sister Irene Sophronia Feltner, sister-in-law Arlene Mae Lyons; and cherished Golden Retriever Jaysea-Star (and four in his heart: Seajay, Daisy-Mae, Scooter-Girl, and Sunrise). Chuck was also blessed with dear friends who cared for him along the way.

     Chuck was preceded in death by his parents Charles E. and Irene (Robinett) Feltner and sister Susanne Robinett Feltner Higgins, brother-in-laws John Earl Higgins, Sr., and Lawrence Edward Baron, and in-laws Edward and Catherine (Dluski) Baron.

     A Celebration of Chuck’s Life will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2020, at 11:00 AM at The Inn at St. John’s, 44045 Five Mile Rd., Plymouth MI 48170.

     Donations in Chuck’s memory may be made to the American Lung Association, 55 W. Wacker Dr., Suite 1150, Chicago IL 60601, DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society, PO Box 307, Drummond Island MI 49726, or the Humane Society of Huron Valley, 3100 Cherry Hill Rd., Ann Arbor MI 48105.

     Chucks ashes will be spread on the beaches of Isle of Palms SC, the Straits of Mackinac and Drummond Island in MI, and he will be buried at St. Hedwig Cemetery in Dearborn Heights MI.

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