Obituary of Charles Richard Baron

Charles Richard Baron, Sr. “Charlie” Johns Island– Charles Richard Baron Sr. of Charleston, SC, passed away on Friday, September 4th, 2015. He was 82. Charlie was born in Queens, NY July 19th, 1933, the son of Stephen and Mercedes (Posthauer) Baron. He was one of four children. Charlie was a star baseball player at Holy Trinity High School in Brooklyn, NY, where as a freshman he started on the varsity team. He graduated in 1951 and would soon after play in the minor league systems of the Panama Canal Zone Leagues. His knuckleball possessed metaphysical qualities that could not be explained by conventional science. Charlie briefly enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, in 1951, but withdrew to enlist in the navy during the Korean War. After his discharge in 1954, he returned to Georgetown under the GI Bill and graduated from the School of Foreign Service in 1957. After graduation, Charlie went to work for the overseas division of General Motors. It was the height of the Cold War, and Charlie was one of the few Americans who witnessed life behind the Iron Curtain while securing Terex earth moving equipment contracts between General Motors and Eastern Bloc countries. It was then on to the middle east where he worked in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Trans Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt. In the early 1960’s, Charlie met his match in the form of Dorothy (Dorrie) De Zanger. They were married on Groundhog’s Day, 1963, in New York City, and remained so until Dorrie’s death in 1982. The 1970’s brought the challenges of doing business in West Africa. On one occasion in Sierra Leone, Charlie was out in the bush with the rest of the GM delegation and some state department types. They brought a cache of liquor with them, but it kept getting stolen by the locals. The French contingent was having the same problem so they joined forces and built a faux mine field where they could bury their booze. There were also the many Peace Corps kids in West Africa who thanked Charlie for the hot showers, the square meals, and the shots of Kentucky bourbon he would mercifully supply. Though a patriot, Charlie was the antithesis of the “ugly American.” He adored the underdog and was tempered in his ways by the plight he witnessed among the poor of the third world. He was a practicing Catholic in both mind and spirit. He was world traveled, yet never had a disparaging word to say about any race, creed, or religion. Charlie’s ethics and humanity extended to everyone, be they prince or pauper. He was a consummate diplomat. In 1974, he settled his family down in Downers Grove, IL, and except for occasional trips to Australia, stopped traveling overseas. He took the position of sales engineer at the Electro-Motive locomotive plant in La Grange, IL. When Charlie’s wife, Dorrie, died in 1982, he was left with the sole charge of their two children, Charlie Jr. and Amanda. As a single parent he was so beautifully clumsy and loving. The mistakes were so wonderful and memory-filled. Charlie was a man for all seasons with his children, whether they were thriving in summer or suffering in winter. He was old-school and awkward and always there…always there…always there. After thirty years of service, Charlie retired from General Motors in 1987. He relocated to Seabrook Island, SC the same year and went to work for Seabrook Island Real Estate. During this time he met his beloved wife, Kathy, whom he married in 1990. They spent twenty-five wonderful years of marriage together, and she was faithfully by his side when he passed. Surely Charlie will be remembered for his love of sports. As a child he worshiped Pee Wee Reese and those bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and had his heart broken when they moved to Los Angeles. He told stories of Y.A. Tittle and his deep passes in the Polo Grounds. He told stories of Minnie Minoso trying to scale the outfield walls when he and his friends heckled him. “Thank God he never made it,” Charlie said. The strength of this country is rooted in the strength of men like Charlie Baron. That twentieth-century post-war optimism and energy expressed itself in the ethos of Charlie Baron. It wasn’t just an idea, it was a way of life. It was Charlie Baron’s way of life, manifested in the way he treated his fellow man, glorified in the way he served his Lord. Charlie is preceded in death by his wife, Dorrie, and his brother, Stephen. He is survived by his wife, Kathy, his two sisters, Roberta (Altman) and Joanne (Antonides), his children, Charlie Jr. and Amanda (Sisson), his grandchildren, Zacharie Baron, Emily Sisson, Amy Sisson, and Patrick Bryant, his great grandchildren, Eli and Bailey Baron and his beloved pug, Hazel. Memorial Mass will be held at 9:00 AM on Thursday, September 10th, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Johns Island. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Kidney Foundation or a charity of one’s choice.