CWH has taken his last checkered flag

I spoke to Chuck's wife yesterday, and she shared that after a long bout with illness, Chuck passed away on July 19th. 
 

Chuck's enthusiasm was infectious, and he was always a positive influence in this community.

The greatest thing we leave behind is the ways in which we influence those around us that we love, and in that spirit I think there are no better words that can be shared about CWH than what his wife shared with me last night:

Jane H wrote:

In the weeks prior and leading up to his passing on July 19th this year, his attitude was a wonderment, of course not always perky, but took the time with family to say his goodbyes and share his love.  He was a fan of GRM and all things car related and also the projects and work that so many did to help others.

 

His last memorial comment was, "I have lived a good & full life, loved fully and blessed by family and friends, so when my time to leave this earth comes, I am ready"

 

He was/is my best friend and love of my life and his presence is deeply missed, but his spirit lives on.

Thank you, Chuck. You will be missed. 
 

To be honest, I didn’t know Chuck well. But I did feel close to him. 

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, I had the opportunity to go to Haiti and help with relief work. I opened up the opportunity to anyone in the GRM community who was willing to help. Chuck was the only one who responded. 

Chuck and I were part of a coordinated effort flying 120 private small planes into remote parts of Haiti. The main airport in Port-au-Prince had been destroyed, and the only planes that could land were those that could land on water or in fields and on roads. We landed on small beaches and drug runners’ landing strips bringing medicine, food, and essentials to the victims of the earthquake. 

Chuck and I primarily worked out of a hanger on a small Caribbean island loading planes. Fuel was at a premium, and the tiny payloads of the small planes meant that we had a huge task loading planes with relief supplies in countless little tiny loads. Plus, there was no air traffic control, so every flight had to sacrifice about 200 lbs of payload to have a 2nd person riding in the copilot’s position keeping an eye out for other planes. 

We couldn’t afford to waste the fuel it would take to land and go through Customs, so every flight was basically smuggling needed supplies into the country. 

Chuck and I became close helping others through the catastrophe. Plus, we got a chance to meet Michael Jordan! 

Chuck’s heart was 3 sizes too big to fit in his chest. I’m proud I had a chance to know him. 

That's a bummer. He always had such great insight, knowledge and presence on the forum. 

He will be missed. 

Wow, I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't noticed his lack of posting on the fora.  People come, people go, but I never think the worst until I hear about it.

May you have a smooth track with no lapped traffic in the way, Chuck.

I had recognized that he had a very small presence on the board for a long while now.  Previous he was always a big help.  He was in the security camera business and was a wealth of knowledge on that topic. He will be missed. 

John Welsh said:

I had recognized that he had a very small presence on the board for a long while now.  Previous he was always a big help.  He was in the security camera business and was a wealth of knowledge on that topic. He will be missed. 

Same here. Always had a nice word, too. And I really enjoyed reading his stories about his nephew.

Edit: One of my favorite posts from him, stuck with me for 10 years: 

Back in the day, Nirvana did a show in Miami outdoors. We had backstage passes, so it was pretty cool. Got to meet Courtney Love. One sad skank. They had recording stuff set up out in the audience, so I had to go check it out. OK, cool. Then we headed back to the stage area. Old fart that I am, did not know about mosh pit. We walked right into it. Some punk slammed my wife, knocking her down. I picked her up and swung as hard as I could, broke his nose rather nicely. Cop came over to see why he was crying so loud, look at old fart and wife, smiled, and walked away.

Oh yeah, his sister's kid!  

Godspeed chuck, you will be missed. 
 

Thank you, Paul, for letting us know and for your wonderful words about him. 

John Welsh said:

Oh yeah, his sister's kid!  

He's mentioned in "Raisng a Rockstar", the book by Dave's mom/Chuck's sister. 

I spoke to Chuck a couple times around 2013 when I bought a camera system from him. From his stories it seemed like he'd been living a very full life. 

I remember he'd moved from the Miami area further west in FL & it seemed like things hadn't been going well, but I thought his wife had been ill at that time. 

He sure seemed like a great guy & I've missed his presence around here. 

Bummer about chuck i had hoped to meet him someday!

Always sucks to lose a GRMer. Thoughts for his family and friends.

I have encouraged Chuck's wife to check in here (using his account). 
 

She will probably stop by to read the comments. 

Always sucks to hear about us losing another member. I really got to get out and about and start meeting more of you guys in person.

Never met Chuck but he sounds like an amazing person. Godspeed Sir..  

I knew Chuck from the forum and we spoke many times, but I never got the chance to meet him in person.  

For Jane: my friend just called to invite me to a steak dinner, so I will have a steak and raise a cold iced tea in honor of Chuck.  An ordinary dinner out will now be a celebration of Chuck's life.  If you need anything, please reach out to us.  We are a family here and YOU are part of it.

Godspeed sir.

sorry to hear, what a terrible loss for his family..

Rest easy CWH. Sorry for your loss Ms Jane. 

I'm bummed out about this. I was thinking about him a week or so ago, and noticed that he hadn't posted in a long time. I sent him an email a while back, asking about security cameras, and didn't hear back, as I had in the past.

I never met him in person, but he always seemed so humble and helpful.

I will miss his presence here. 

NickD said:

Always sucks to hear about us losing another member. I really got to get out and about and start meeting more of you guys in person.

<cough> Challenge </cough>

Seriously, we're cheaper if you visit us in bulk. 

I was just thinking CWH hasn't posted in a while.

Damn.

Godspeed, Chuck. I had little interaction with him on here, but he was a good dude for sure. 

He was a good-hearted person and will be missed.

The mosh pit story cracks me up.

This is beautiful and fills my heart with amazing feelings.  I know Chuck is checking it all out and thankful as well.  

GRMS is a family community that strives to improve people's lives doing the things they love.

I, and should say we, thank you so much! 

"IT'S NOT HOW LONG, BUT HOW WELL YOU HAVE LIVED, IS THE MAIN THING"

Sincere thanks Jane Hanlon