Charles 'Chas' Austin
March 8, 1914 ~ December 4, 2008
Rochester: Thursday, December 4, 2008 at age 94. Predeceased by his daughter, Patricia Noce; son, Donald Austin. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 70 years, Elizabeth Austin; son, David (Susan) Austin; daughters, Virginia (Donald) Woods & Charleen (L. Robert) Williams; 14 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great-grandchildren; sister, Clarice (Ralph) Hawley; several nieces, nephews and cousins; special friend at Shorewinds, Eddie Palmer; many dear friends.
Friends may call Monday, December 8th, 4-7 P.M. at Vay-Schleich & Meeson Funeral Home, 1075 Long Pond Road. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated, Tuesday, December 9th , 9:00 A.M. at Holy Cross Church. Interment in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Holy Cross Church, 4492 Lake Avenue, Rochester NY 14612, in his memory.
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A year ago today, my best friend passed away. He will always hold a little corner of my heart. He taught me to play the organ, taught me to drive, taught me to look at life as a glass half-full, not half-empty. He let me lean on his shoulder & cry when I needed to, and offered his shoulder to anyone else that needed it. He enjoyed life to it’s fullest and when he laughed, he laughed heartily. He loved his wife, my Grandma Betty, with everything he had. He was her protector, her confidant & her best friend also. They were married 70 1/2 years! They were so much a part of each other’s lives, that he even waited for her to cross over to the other side! He watched her walk across the room & when she sat down beside him, and held his hand in hers, he decided it was time to ‘go home.’ He went peacefully at the age of 94, with his wife holding his hand as he did. What better way to end your journey on earth? Chassy, I wish you knew how much I truly miss you. Myself, my hubby & kids have learned so much from you & Grandma, that with you gone, a little part of us, went ‘home’ to. Please know that we will never forget who you were & what you taught all of us – that life is what you make of it. I know you had a special relationship with your grandparents, just as I had with you. I wish you knew that whenever you were around, I felt safe & confident with whatever I was doing. You were truly a gifted ‘teacher’ with many ‘students’ that learned from you, for many generations of family, friends & neighbors. I smile when I think of you, which is often & cry when I miss you, which, also, is often. Thank you for just being you. Thank you for being my Grandpa Chas!
Charlie: Both Russ and I will miss you very, very much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking care of Russ when he needed it the most. He nor I will ever forget what you and Betty have done for him. You were a wonderful person and someone we, especially Russ all those years looked up to. You will be sorely missed. God Bless you and your family and may you rest in peace.
Chas – What can I say about a man who touched everyone he knew in some way or another. He taught many a kid many a thing! I remember him teaching me at 3 yrs old how to play the organ – I was so little that I couldn’t read, so he’d take a crayon & mark on the keys what the letters were – then he’d write the music out by using the letters from the keyboard – and the titles of the songs would be a picture (Wild Irish Rose was a rose at the top of the page, Rudolph was a deer with antlers with a red nose!, etc.) He was extremely patient with his grandkids, explaining & drawing pictures of everything they asked questions about. You were my best friend all through life and I will miss you horribly. I can only thank you for teaching me all the little things that you taught me which made me that much more a better person. I will miss you for the rest of my life – because you were such a big part of it. I love you, ‘Scoop’
Dad I miss you
December 6, 2008
Betty and family, Sorry for the loss of ‘Chas, I know how much he will be missed by all of the family. It was nice knowing him and knowing how my son, Bill (Lumpy) thought so much of him. Was nice that Chas taught Lump’s a thing or two about cars and camera’s and so many other things. Now they will share time together again and Chas will get to know Bill’s father. God Bless all and may you all share the peace that he is no longer going though the pain of the last year or so. Lorraine Briggs
lorraine briggs (Rochester, NY)
Grandma Betty, Debbie, Charlene and family:
Harold and I will miss all of the stories that Chaz shared with all of us. He was a very intelligent man. His love for Betty and all of his family was shown by the stories he shared and seen in his pictures. Bill ‘Lumpy’ will enjoy having him up in heaven sharing his stories once again. Bill really enjoyed his company and he shared this joy with all of our family. They are still both bragging about the cadillac coffin Chaz has. We will miss them both. Love, Barbara Strassner
Hello… SEEE ANN! It pains me to know I won’t hear that wonderful man greet me like that when we visited! He’s the inspiration that encouraged me to go to college and become a music teacher! I will surely miss the organ recitals and the late night slide shows! Thanks again for the green Cadillac! Clasp your hand and shake the daylights out of your leg! Goodbye, Chas!
I had my first father for 14 years.
I had my second father for 55 years.
Thanks Chas.
Willy
I have many great memories of Chas. He was always ready to tell you stories or explain to you how something worked. He taught me how to play london bridges on the organ that was in their living room. ( still the only song that I still know how to play) Always was happy to see you and make you feel very welcomed. I will miss grandpa Chas a lot while I have not been able to see much of him the last four years living down here in NC there is not a time I don’t think back at all the great things Chas and grandma Betty has done for my family. I am sure Chas is in Heaven right now giving some kids a wagon ride with his tractor. I will love and miss you.
I’ll always remember Chas with his HOW-DOO’S to riding his(or any)bycycle backwards,kicking above his head(just to show you that he could).My best memories are the rides to cortland or just out for a drive (sitting in the middle armrest),handing him the correct tool for the job and of course feeding the skunks on my lap by the backdoor.
My parents, Mate and Marie Jenk were good friends with Charlie and Betty for many, many years. Dad passed in 1980, Mom in 1998. We used to visit them on Denise Road. I was good friends with Patty, David, and Donnie. So very sorry for your loss. Charlie was a wonderful organist and a good man.
Not a day goes by that I have not thought about Chas and Grandma Betty.
When I think about Chas he always has a warm smile on his face and made you feel special like that smile was just for you. I remember when he would come into a room he would say ‘How Doo.’ To this day I smile when I hear that.
I remember Chas’s love for everything nature and photography. I remember him taking pictures of the beautiful flowers in his gardens and teaching anyone who was around about them. I have a picture he took with my camera when I was home visiting many years ago. I took that picture and I put it in a frame and when I look at it I remember sitting in the back yard listening and talking with two of the most important people in my life.
Chas will always be rememberd in my heart and with my children. They may never have had the gift of knowing him in person but will remember him through the stories of my childhood and growing up as his grandaughter.
I love you Chas and hold you close to my heart.
Thanks to everyone in my extended family for all the support they showed me. Chas was a remarkable man I just wish i would have had more time to spend with him! Grandma Betty we all knew you loved him with all your heart you are a very very specal person I fell honered to know both of you.
With Love ‘Big Dave’
Though I am going to dearly miss Chas, I’m glad that I have had all of the amazing memories with him. He taught me to respect every living thing around me, especially those stupid ants. How would YOU feel if a giant came and stepped on you and your family? I will never forget the snowball fights he would start with us kids when we would get home from school. Chas was a brilliant, jolly man, and I’m happy to have had the last twenty years with my great-grandfather.