Charles Getler died April 20, 2013, in Naples, Fla., from Parkinson’s disease.
Born in Detroit, Charlie prepped at Detroit University School and entered Princeton in June 1943. He was joined by Rod Merrick in one of our class’s first thefts of the Nassau Hall bell clapper. After two years he enlisted in the Navy, but after his discharge returned to Princeton, where he roomed in Holder with Joe Lackey- later his neighbor in Grosse Point, Mich. Charlie majored in politics and graduated in 1948. He received an MBA from the University of Michigan in 1951 and married Joyce Culehan a year later.
Charlie’s first and only employer was Ford Motor Co., where he worked in numerous departments. After a 40-year career with Ford, he retired as administrative manager in the controller’s department. Charlie and Joyce moved from Grosse Point to Naples soon after.
Charlie had wanted to do financial planning in retirement and was pleased when the Collier County commissioners asked him to consult for them. He was also a director of the Princeton Club of Southwest Florida.
The class remembers this outgoing, though serious, classmate, and sends these memories to Joyce and to daughters Diane and Julia.