Born August 3, 1918, in Chicago, IL, Charles, usually called “Chuck” or “Charlie,” was the only son of William Henry and Ida Carlson Clark. In 1925, his parents moved their family, which included Chuck’s widowed grandmother, Cathilla Hamlet Clark, and his sister, Lois, to
Westmont, IL, where they became prosperous merchants and commercial landlords.
In his youth, Chuck helped his parents in their dry goods store and worked for a time at Carson Pirie Scott. He studied engineering for
2½ years at the U of IL, Urbana, but he left those studies in order to return to the Chicago suburbs and woo the love of his life, Barbara Castle Jordan, whom he had met at Hinsdale High School. They eloped to Kahoka, MO, where they were married by a minister on September 17, 1941.
As World War II absorbed the nation, Chuck worked for the Electromotive Division of General Motors in La Grange, IL, as a diesel engine tester. He and Barbara purchased a lot near Hinsdale, IL. Chuck had a former real estate office moved to the site and remodeled it into a home, digging a utilities trench by hand from the road to the house.
Six months after the October, 1942, birth of Barbara and Chuck’s
first child, William Henry, II, Chuck was drafted into the army. In spite of his desire to serve his country overseas as an Amphibian Engineer, Chuck was transferred to the Army Air Corps in Ohio because of his experience testing engines. He served commendably until late February, 1946.
Chuck briefly ran a dairy farm in Sandwich, IL. With a second child, Charles, Jr., on the way, he left farming to work as a carpenter, construction foreman and remodeling contractor in Chicago’s western suburbs. Eventually, Chuck prospered in commission sales for Brock Tool and Supply Company of Chicago. He instilled a strong work ethic in all of his children.
The three younger children, Charles, Jr., Robert Jordan, and Carolyn, were born while the family lived in a cabin that Chuck expanded on Woodland Farm, Hinsdale, owned by Barbara’s parents. With seed money from his father, Chuck almost single handedly built a Cape Cod-style house in Clarendon Hills, IL. He continued to apply his building skills to various projects, including constructing a boat and extensively remodeling a large house for the family in Glen Ellyn, IL, after the family moved there in 1959.
When open heart surgery in 1972 required Chuck to end his sales career and the recreational piloting of small aircraft, he built a 15-year career in quality control and safety compliance for Wellcraft Marine in Sarasota, FL. For three years, Barbara and he lived in Bethesda, MD, assisting their newly widowed daughter while she raised two young children and established a career at the Library of Congress.
Chuck and Barbara moved back to Florida in August, 1989. They celebrated 51 years of marriage. Chuck died in December, 1992, in Palm Coast, FL.
Westmont, IL, where they became prosperous merchants and commercial landlords.
In his youth, Chuck helped his parents in their dry goods store and worked for a time at Carson Pirie Scott. He studied engineering for
2½ years at the U of IL, Urbana, but he left those studies in order to return to the Chicago suburbs and woo the love of his life, Barbara Castle Jordan, whom he had met at Hinsdale High School. They eloped to Kahoka, MO, where they were married by a minister on September 17, 1941.
As World War II absorbed the nation, Chuck worked for the Electromotive Division of General Motors in La Grange, IL, as a diesel engine tester. He and Barbara purchased a lot near Hinsdale, IL. Chuck had a former real estate office moved to the site and remodeled it into a home, digging a utilities trench by hand from the road to the house.
Six months after the October, 1942, birth of Barbara and Chuck’s
first child, William Henry, II, Chuck was drafted into the army. In spite of his desire to serve his country overseas as an Amphibian Engineer, Chuck was transferred to the Army Air Corps in Ohio because of his experience testing engines. He served commendably until late February, 1946.
Chuck briefly ran a dairy farm in Sandwich, IL. With a second child, Charles, Jr., on the way, he left farming to work as a carpenter, construction foreman and remodeling contractor in Chicago’s western suburbs. Eventually, Chuck prospered in commission sales for Brock Tool and Supply Company of Chicago. He instilled a strong work ethic in all of his children.
The three younger children, Charles, Jr., Robert Jordan, and Carolyn, were born while the family lived in a cabin that Chuck expanded on Woodland Farm, Hinsdale, owned by Barbara’s parents. With seed money from his father, Chuck almost single handedly built a Cape Cod-style house in Clarendon Hills, IL. He continued to apply his building skills to various projects, including constructing a boat and extensively remodeling a large house for the family in Glen Ellyn, IL, after the family moved there in 1959.
When open heart surgery in 1972 required Chuck to end his sales career and the recreational piloting of small aircraft, he built a 15-year career in quality control and safety compliance for Wellcraft Marine in Sarasota, FL. For three years, Barbara and he lived in Bethesda, MD, assisting their newly widowed daughter while she raised two young children and established a career at the Library of Congress.
Chuck and Barbara moved back to Florida in August, 1989. They celebrated 51 years of marriage. Chuck died in December, 1992, in Palm Coast, FL.
Born August 3, 1918, in Chicago, IL, Charles, usually called “Chuck” or “Charlie,” was the only son of William Henry and Ida Carlson Clark. In 1925, his parents moved their family, which included Chuck’s widowed grandmother, Cathilla Hamlet Clark, and his sister, Lois, to
Westmont, IL, where they became prosperous merchants and commercial landlords.
In his youth, Chuck helped his parents in their dry goods store and worked for a time at Carson Pirie Scott. He studied engineering for
2½ years at the U of IL, Urbana, but he left those studies in order to return to the Chicago suburbs and woo the love of his life, Barbara Castle Jordan, whom he had met at Hinsdale High School. They eloped to Kahoka, MO, where they were married by a minister on September 17, 1941.
As World War II absorbed the nation, Chuck worked for the Electromotive Division of General Motors in La Grange, IL, as a diesel engine tester. He and Barbara purchased a lot near Hinsdale, IL. Chuck had a former real estate office moved to the site and remodeled it into a home, digging a utilities trench by hand from the road to the house.
Six months after the October, 1942, birth of Barbara and Chuck’s
first child, William Henry, II, Chuck was drafted into the army. In spite of his desire to serve his country overseas as an Amphibian Engineer, Chuck was transferred to the Army Air Corps in Ohio because of his experience testing engines. He served commendably until late February, 1946.
Chuck briefly ran a dairy farm in Sandwich, IL. With a second child, Charles, Jr., on the way, he left farming to work as a carpenter, construction foreman and remodeling contractor in Chicago’s western suburbs. Eventually, Chuck prospered in commission sales for Brock Tool and Supply Company of Chicago. He instilled a strong work ethic in all of his children.
The three younger children, Charles, Jr., Robert Jordan, and Carolyn, were born while the family lived in a cabin that Chuck expanded on Woodland Farm, Hinsdale, owned by Barbara’s parents. With seed money from his father, Chuck almost single handedly built a Cape Cod-style house in Clarendon Hills, IL. He continued to apply his building skills to various projects, including constructing a boat and extensively remodeling a large house for the family in Glen Ellyn, IL, after the family moved there in 1959.
When open heart surgery in 1972 required Chuck to end his sales career and the recreational piloting of small aircraft, he built a 15-year career in quality control and safety compliance for Wellcraft Marine in Sarasota, FL. For three years, Barbara and he lived in Bethesda, MD, assisting their newly widowed daughter while she raised two young children and established a career at the Library of Congress.
Chuck and Barbara moved back to Florida in August, 1989. They celebrated 51 years of marriage. Chuck died in December, 1992, in Palm Coast, FL.
Westmont, IL, where they became prosperous merchants and commercial landlords.
In his youth, Chuck helped his parents in their dry goods store and worked for a time at Carson Pirie Scott. He studied engineering for
2½ years at the U of IL, Urbana, but he left those studies in order to return to the Chicago suburbs and woo the love of his life, Barbara Castle Jordan, whom he had met at Hinsdale High School. They eloped to Kahoka, MO, where they were married by a minister on September 17, 1941.
As World War II absorbed the nation, Chuck worked for the Electromotive Division of General Motors in La Grange, IL, as a diesel engine tester. He and Barbara purchased a lot near Hinsdale, IL. Chuck had a former real estate office moved to the site and remodeled it into a home, digging a utilities trench by hand from the road to the house.
Six months after the October, 1942, birth of Barbara and Chuck’s
first child, William Henry, II, Chuck was drafted into the army. In spite of his desire to serve his country overseas as an Amphibian Engineer, Chuck was transferred to the Army Air Corps in Ohio because of his experience testing engines. He served commendably until late February, 1946.
Chuck briefly ran a dairy farm in Sandwich, IL. With a second child, Charles, Jr., on the way, he left farming to work as a carpenter, construction foreman and remodeling contractor in Chicago’s western suburbs. Eventually, Chuck prospered in commission sales for Brock Tool and Supply Company of Chicago. He instilled a strong work ethic in all of his children.
The three younger children, Charles, Jr., Robert Jordan, and Carolyn, were born while the family lived in a cabin that Chuck expanded on Woodland Farm, Hinsdale, owned by Barbara’s parents. With seed money from his father, Chuck almost single handedly built a Cape Cod-style house in Clarendon Hills, IL. He continued to apply his building skills to various projects, including constructing a boat and extensively remodeling a large house for the family in Glen Ellyn, IL, after the family moved there in 1959.
When open heart surgery in 1972 required Chuck to end his sales career and the recreational piloting of small aircraft, he built a 15-year career in quality control and safety compliance for Wellcraft Marine in Sarasota, FL. For three years, Barbara and he lived in Bethesda, MD, assisting their newly widowed daughter while she raised two young children and established a career at the Library of Congress.
Chuck and Barbara moved back to Florida in August, 1989. They celebrated 51 years of marriage. Chuck died in December, 1992, in Palm Coast, FL.
