Charles A. Mclaughlin

Charles Angus McLaughlin, 94, of Storrs, Connecticut, died Thursday, June 11, 2015. Charles was an only child born September 9, 1920 in Olympia, Washington to George Alexander McLaughlin, and Frances Grace Hewitt. He graduated from Olympia High in 1938, where he embraced what were to become lifelong passions: acting, chess, music and tennis. His amazing stamp collection survives from this time. The following year he attended Stanford University as a freshman. In his sophomore and junior year he attended the University of Washington, where he met his first wife, Althea Jones. In 1943, he entered into active duty with the Army. As part of the 255th Regiment of the 63rd Division, he landed in Marseilles in December 1944. In March of 1945, he was awarded a Bronze Star for actions during the final push to break through the Siegfried Line near Ommersheim, Germany. He also received a Purple Heart during his service. In February of 1946 he returned home and ten days later married Althea, later divorcing in 1980. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he was awarded a PhD in English. He gained much inspiration from the Neo-Aristotelian School of Literary Criticism. In 1952 he was hired to teach in the English Department at the University of Connecticut, where he taught until he retired as a full professor in 1989. Charles was known as a Renaissance man with a wide-range of interests and talents. He wrote poetry, studied languages, taught 18th century literature and Shakespeare, and was sufficiently inspiring to his students to be given a university-wide Distinguished Teaching Award in 1963. He acted in the Mansfield Players for many years, including the productions of Brecht's The Chalk Cross, Cocteau's Infernal Machine, and Ustinov's The Love of Four Colonels. He played excellent tennis and skied well into his eighties. As an enthusiastic birder, he often participated in the Christmas bird counts of the Audubon Society. He could play flamenco guitar with dexterity and passion. It was not unusual to see him at night with his big telescope searching for a comet or the moons of Jupiter. In 1969, he was made director of the Center of Innovative Education, where he collaborated with students to improve the quality of teaching throughout the university. He was active on the committee for disabled students. In 1970, he coached the UConn College Bowl team to three impressive victories. During the 1980s he became actively involved in exploring the word-processing potential of computers and was one of the first faculty members to have a dial-up connection to the university's mainframe computer. In 1990 Charles married Ruth Wilding. After his retirement, he returned to his earlier love of the piano. For many years, he participated in a chamber music trio that brought much joy to many. In 2005, he moved to Glen Ridge Cooperative. In spite of the dementia later in his life, he could still play a strong game of chess, played the piano and did crossword puzzles. He always recognized the people closest to him until the end, and he never lost his sweet and warm spirit. Many thanks to the staff at MCNR for the loving care he received there. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, his daughter, Kathryn Amoss of Silver Spring, Maryland, and his son, Malcolm McLaughlin of Ardsley, New York. He has three surviving grandchildren: Philip Amoss, Christopher Amoss, and Calinda McLaughlin. His son, Carrick, pre-deceased him. He is also survived by four step-children: Mark Wilding of California, David Wilding of California, Sandra Wilding of New York, and JoAnne Wilding of Montreal, Canada. In lieu of flowers, donations to Joshua's Trust would be greatly appreciated, www.joshuastrust.org The family will receive friends, Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 10:00 am at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street (Rte. 195) Willimantic, CT. Funeral Service to follow at 11:00 am at the funeral home. Interment to follow at Storrs Cemetery, Storrs, CT.