Charles Schroeder passed away on September 27th at the age of 94. He is survived by his son, Richard and his wife Debbie, daughter Joanna Laughlin and her husband Mike, grandson Matthew Kimball, M.D. and wife Jessica, and granddaughter Julie Olsen and husband Ryan. Charlie also enjoyed his four great-grandchildren, Bailie, Marlie, Adriana, and Ethan.
Charlie was born and raised in Columbus, NE, along with his four brothers and two sisters. He graduated from St. Bonaventure High School in 1940, where he also played trumpet in the band. On June 5th, 1940, Charlie, joined three of his brothers and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served for 6 years on the USS Mississippi and other naval vessels as a seaman and member of the military band. At the end of the war, while he was stationed in San Bruno, he met his wife to be, Alice Lengewich. They were married in 1946 in Duluth Minnesota, Alice's home. Moving back to San Francisco, Charlie started his career as an optician working for Bausch and Lomb where he spent 25 years making eyeglasses, before switching to Altos Optical in Los Altos, CA. A very personable guy, Charlie enjoyed the face-to-face contact and talking to his customers while fitting their glasses. He worked for Altos Optical an additional 35 years, finally retiring at the young age of 84 after 60 years as an optician. Charlie spent the last years of his life enjoying his grandchildren and great grandchildren. An avid sports fan, Charlie watched them all. Not only his favorite home teams, but almost every other game that was televised. For exercise, he looked forward to attending his Adaptive Physical Education classes at De Anza College where he got to ride a bike, stretch, and (his favorite) get a massage. He was looking forward to attending a new session at De Anza, when his body finally decided he'd lived a rich and full life and it was time to call it quits. Charlie ended on his own terms, still living in his home by himself in generally good health, the way he always said he wanted to go. He will be missed greatly by family and friends.
At Charlie's request it will be a private family only service. In lieu of flowers Charlie would like donations sent to: The Shrine of St.Thaddeus. 2930 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA or St. Jude's Children's Research @ www.stjude.org .