Charles (Charlie) Brunswick, age 98, of the Bronx, NY, passed away Sunday May 24, 2020.
Charlie Brunswick was born in 1922 in Berlin, Germany. He remained in Berlin until 1941, although life became extremely difficult. He left Germany with his parents and brother on the last train that left Berlin during the war and came to this country. After settling in New York City, Charlie enlisted in the Navy and later attended CCNY, earning a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked over 30 years at General Electric as an engineer and later as a manager. In 1952, he met Liesel (Lee) Roth in the Catskills and they were married over 50 years. They had two children, Ralph and Amy, and subsequently five grandchildren. Lee and Charlie lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Schenectady, New York, Burlington, Vermont and Monroe Township, New Jersey.
Lee and Charlie travelled the world during their many years of retirement, spending time in Asia, South America, the Middle East and Australia. They gathered new friends wherever they went. After Lee died in 2009, Charlie moved to the Upper West Side and later to an apartment at the Hebrew Home in the Bronx. While living in Manhattan and the Bronx, Charlie enjoyed frequently going to the opera and museums, and sharing exotic meals with his grandchildren.
Charlie is survived by his best friend and brother, Fred (Joan), children Ralph of New York City and Amy (Aron) of Morristown NJ, and grandchildren Naomi (Ryan) of Vancouver, British Columbia, Daniel of San Francisco, Rebecca of Park City Utah, and Sam and Eve of New York City.
Charlie came to this country as a refugee and was helped by HIAS, an organization which supports refugees as they rebuild their lives. Donations in his memory may be made to HIAS at https://www.hias.org or your charity of choice.
Private funeral services and burial are at Beth Israel Cemetery, Woodbridge, NJ.
We’ve known Charlie since we fly to
Burlington ,Vermont. He made dinner for us the night before the
wedding . We enjoyed his July 4th
Decorated cake many times. My children at very young ages went
skiing with him in Vermont and stayed at his home. He really seemed
Like a favorite relative to all of us.
I will miss him very much.
May Charlie’s memory be blessed. A wonderful human being and a great man. May the extended family be comforted in their mourning. BD’H
Amy, and family,
This is a wonderful tribute to your father/grandfather. I enjoyed his company so much at our holiday parties and your celebrations. He was a joy to be around. His memory is a blessing to us all. We will miss him.
Sending love and condolences to you from our family.
Gina and Craig
While we only knew Charlie Brunswick for a short time we came to appreciate his friendship very much.
Amy and Family,
What a great honor it was to know and spend time with Charlie. He was an inspiration to us all and was a real mensch. We are deeply saddened by this loss and know that he will remembered so fondly.
With love,
David & Lillesol
Lori and I had the pleasure of knowing Charlie since the 1980s. He always had a smile on his face, thereby putting all people he met at ease. There should be more members of the human species like Charlie. May his memory be for all time in the minds of all people he met, especially Amy, Aron, Ralph, Naomi, Daniel, Rebecca, Sam and Eve and other members of his close family.
The beautiful pictures posted, capture forever the many fond and shared memories of life with Charlie z”l, a wonderful man, whose inner joy and wisdom radiated to all those around him. Charlie was, above all, a real mensch! It was always a pleasure talking to him because he was so personable, upbeat, insightful and wise. With all his life experiences, Charlie maintained a sense of humor and proportion. May his fond memory live on in the hearts of his family and friends, and all those who knew him, and may he be remembered in the Good Book of Life as a man who lived the ‘good life’.
Please convey our heartfelt condolences to the entire family of Charlie Brunswick z”l.
*** from Joanne & Samy Masafy ***