Obituary of Charles W. Ghent

Charles W. Ghent, 73, of 9740 North Road, Fredonia, died Friday April 6, 2012. Charles was born in Rome, NY to Frank and Marjorie Williams Ghent. He was a 1956 graduate of Jamestown High School, where, as a member of Chi Sigma Chi fraternity, he enjoyed weightlifting, pole vaulting, and playing basketball and football. He attended Cornell University and St. Bonaventure University, and earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Detroit in 1963. Charles' hobbies were many and varied. He raced both motocross motorcycles and Porsche cars, and he was always ready for a pickup game of basketball, even into his later years. He loved music, particularly classical music and traditional German folk songs. He entertained family and friends with his accordion performances, and became fast friends with many accordion enthusiasts across North America. He enjoyed travelling in Europe with his children; these trips often involved navigational challenges on foot, on public transit, and on the Autobahn, and became the material of family legends. Charles was a member of both the Jamestown and Randolph Seventh-Day Adventist Churches. Charles was always willing to help friends in need, by building structures, wiring buildings, or fixing cars. His dry wit and unique sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Martha Ghent, and their three children, Gunther, Ilse, and Katharina; his children Rebecca and Rachel Ghent and their mother, Virginia Ghent; his children Julie Waller, Lisa Hoehn, and Tim Ghent, and their mother, Suellen Kurgin; four stepchildren, James Long and Piper Winn, and Jacob Kelley and Natalie Kelley-Wilson; and nine grandchildren, Jenna, Brent, and Tiffany Waller; Daniel Logie and Michael Hoehn; Kyle and Kaela Ghent; Logan Wilson, and Charles Flewelling. Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Marjorie, and his stepmother, Phoebe Ghent. The funeral will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Jamestown. Burial will be in Sunset Hill Cemetery. Friends will be received from 6-8 p.m. Friday in the Lind Funeral Home and for one hour prior to the service Saturday in the church. Memorials may be made to World Vision, PO Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716. You may light a candle in remembrance of Charles at www.lindfuneralhome.com