Charles Evans Haselton

Charles was born to the late Willard Haselton and Laura Emogene (Lawrence) on July 2, 1928 at his parents’ family farm in Wilmington, NY. Growing up during the Great Depression shaped Charles’s formative years and resulted in him being a lifelong “miser and keeper of things.” Indeed, to this day, he has the fountain pen that he used in high school on his desk.

Charles’s early education was a one room schoolhouse, two miles from home, on a dirt road, no running water, no electricity, wood stove in the middle of the room for heat, and stinking chemical toilets that were inside the building, which he says was better than some who had to go to the outside “privy.”

Born third of seven children, Charles has fond memories of life growing up on the homestead. Watching his parents work as hard as they did to make a comfortable and loving home for him and his siblings taught Charles the value of hard work and doing the “right thing” for the common good. It also instilled in him a fascination and sentimentality for “all things old.” Charles has always had a love of antiques, collecting many old tools, old clocks, old engines, and old cars through the years. He is intrigued by the ingenuity his ancestors had to survive. He and Erma enjoyed many years traveling in the old car circuit and showing their beautiful antique cars.

With a large family growing up and money being tight, Charles learned to be proactive and industrious at an early age. Wanting a bicycle as a kid and not having two nickels to rub together, Charles would take catalogs to price out the parts to make a bike for himself. During World War II when bicycles were scarce, a family friend told him of a place 150 miles away that had some bikes available. Not short on moxie, and having saved enough money from working odd jobs, young Charles hopped on a train by himself and traveled from Lake Placid, NY to Utica, NY to buy himself a new bicycle. He then got on a train back to Lake Placid, with his bike, and rode the bicycle home (about 15 miles). His senior year of High School, Charles stayed at the Marcy Hotel in Lake Placid NY over the Christmas holiday to work as a busboy to earn enough money to attend his senior trip to New York City. Charles is proof that where there is a will, there is a way.

Charles’s parents “dragged” him and his siblings to services at the Wilmington Church of the Nazarene each Sunday morning and evening, and Wednesday evenings. As a result, Charles claims he didn’t have much time to get into trouble growing up. Fortunately for him, his parents’ dedication to the church helped secure him a spot at Eastern Nazarene College in Wollaston, MA, where one fateful afternoon he would meet the love of his life, Erma Jean (Leasure). Chapel services at E.N.C. were mandatory and the seating was arranged alphabetically. With Charles an “H” and Erma an “L” their paths may never have crossed, except one day Erma was late to chapel and with all other seats taken, had to take a seat in the “H” section, right next to Charles. Erma may have never taken a second glance at Charles, except for the fact that she was an enthusiastic participant in the hymn singing, and Charles never uttered a note. This perplexed Erma so much that she just had to know what was the matter with him. That was it. They were inseparable from then on and enjoyed over 70 years of wedded bliss before Erma was called home to be with her Lord in April, 2020.

A strong believer in the “Protestant Ethic” and the “spirit of Capitalism,” Charles did any odd job he could find to work his way through college, allowing him to graduate debt free in 1952 with bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Charles says the secret to his success is being thorough, accurate, prompt, and neat, and always trying to do a little bit extra, rather than “just enough”. This philosophy of hard work has served him well through the years. After graduating from college, Charles was sent a telegram from his father asking him to come home to Wilmington, NY and help run the family business, Haselton Lumber Company. The business advice his father gave him then was simply to, “be fair to the other fellow” and to follow the motto, “A greedy man loses in the end,” words of wisdom Charles has always strived to live by. Starting at $80 a week, Charles stayed with the lumber company for 38 years. He handed over the reins to his children Sam and Pam upon his retirement as President in 1990.

Charles was active in the community of his birth for many years. He participated in the Chamber of Commerce and was a member and treasurer for the Wilmington Volunteer Fire Department for a time. Charles was a member of the Rotary Club in Ausable Forks, NY for 29 years, 11 months, and two weeks, boasting twenty-eight years of perfect attendance, and has been a member of the Elks for 37 years. He says he is going to continue to pay his dues to the Elks so he can be the oldest member of the Saranac Lake (NY) BPOE 1508. Charles has been a resident of Vero Beach FL for almost 30 years and currently resides at Indian Oaks, where he is continuously impressed by the staff and enormously grateful for the friends and camaraderie he has there.

Charles is survived by his son Daniel (Carolyn) Haselton of Lebanon, NH; daughter Pamela (Robert) Gray of Wilmington, NY; son Samuel (Pamela) Haselton of Wilmington, NY; daughter Beth (Fred) Adames of Orlando, FL; grandchildren Erin, Kathryn, Ryan, James, Matthew, Sarah, Alison, Emily, Danielle, Daniel, David, and Laura; great-grandchildren Lakota, River, William, Alexander, Olivia, Grace, Hope, Evan, Ava, Gavin, Shelby, Lola, Rylee, Bella, Logan, T.J., Bowie, and Gabriel. Charles hopes he convinced at least one of them to “drive the damn bus and don’t be a passenger.” He is also survived by his brother Frank Haselton of Virginia, brother Timothy Haselton of New York, sister Shirley (George) Krause of New Jersey, sister Esther Eppler of Kansas, and brother Stephen Haselton of Alabama. Besides his beloved wife Erma, Charles is predeceased by his brother Walter Haselton of NY.

Charles will be interred next to his wife in Haselton Cemetery in Wilmington, NY. It states on his gravestone, “He tried”, but we think he did much better than that. His is a life well lived, measured not by the material “things” that he has collected over the years, but by the love he shares with his family and friends, and most importantly his best friend, wife, and lover, Erma Jean for over 70 years. Charles has lived his life intentionally, not on autopilot, taking advantage of every day, creating cherished memories, and grateful for each day he remains “vertical.” A life well lived, indeed.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.