Obituary of Charles William Beckman

Charles William Beckman, 89, of Erie, passed away on March 7, 2017. He was born on April 16, 1927 to Clyde Arthur Beckman and Ida Herhold Beckman and lived all of his life in Erie. He married Nancy Ann Means in 1953, and it is a testimony to their lifetime bond that he passed away only three months after her death last December. Their marriage of 63 years produced four sons, Charles Edward (nee Elizabeth Sesler) of Towson, Maryland, Richard Arthur (nee Amy Bujnoski), of Millcreek, Robert Vernon (nee Kristen Borawski) of Millcreek, and Thomas William (nee Mary Baldwin) of Efland, N.C. Charlie and Chuck to some, dad or papa to others, he was also known as Mike on Erie’s West Third Street where he grew up and had Our Gang style adventures at the root of the Depression-era stories he loved to share in later life. Joined by pals with nicknames like Moon and Oswald, he raised chickens in the family backyard, helped run the family smokehouse that filled the neighborhood with the aroma of smoked herring and blue pike, and scooped up ore pellets dropped by the bayfront trains for slingshot ammo. Afterward, known as Charlie, he worked 37 years for the U.S. Post Office, retiring in 1981 as branch supervisor. In years to follow he worked at Erie’s Complete Angler and Hansen’s Tackle Shop, which dovetailed with his lifetime passion, Lake Erie fishing. When Chuck chose a boat instead of a bike for his twelfth birthday, he began a lifetime of becoming one of the best sports anglers on the Great Lakes, being able to instantly identify waterfowl in flight, and passing on his love of the water to his children and grandchildren. Somehow, after waking at 4 a.m. for a full working day, afterward Chuck could load two boats and four boys in the family station wagon and take them fishing until after dark. As a person, Chuck conducted his life with a plain yet deep sense of right and wrong, not as a means to judge others, but as standards he set for himself and inspiration for those who loved him. Survivors include a dear sister, Alice Hearn of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Vern and Sarah Walker of Downingtown, Pa., and thirteen grandchildren. Niece Clarice (Edler) Robison and her husband, Richard (Robby) Robison looked after him in his later years, as did his devoted granddaughter, Caroline Beckman. He was preceded in death by stepmother Mabel Zurn Rossell Beckman, half-sister Clarice Rossell Edler and half-brother Charles Rossell. Calling hours will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2017, from, 11:00 AM until the time of the Christian funeral service at 1:00 p.m., at the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home & Crematory Inc., 4216 Sterrettania Rd., Erie, PA 16506. Interment will follow in Laurel Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Save Our Native Species (S.O.N.S.) of Lake Erie, sonsoflakerie.org.