Rammelt, Charles (“Charlie”) Gardner
Passed away peacefully in his sleep from natural causes on February 14, 2019, holding the hand of his beloved wife of 58 years, Susan. In a love affair that began on a blind date in 1961, and endured until his passing, fittingly on Valentine’s Day 2019, Charlie’s devotion to his wife was typified when just days before his passing he replied, after being asked whether he wanted a cookie, “no, a kiss from Susie.”
Charlie was born on January 9, 1935, in Evanston, Illinois to Albert and Edith Rammelt. After attending Evanston Township High School and graduating from The Hill School (Potsdam, NY) in 1953, Charlie received his B.A. from Hamilton College (Clinton, NY) in 1957.
Following graduation, Charlie attended the Navy’s Officer Training School and graduated a Lieutenant in the United States Navy where he served from 1957 to 1960. Among other things, Charlie served as an intelligence office in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Bon Homme Richard.
After receiving an M.B.A. in Finance from the Northwestern University School of Business in 1961, Charlie married Susan Ransom Elliott of Highland Park on May 5, 1962. Charlie and Susie moved to Winnetka and raised two children, David and Anne, in the same ranch house on Lincoln Avenue where they would live together for 38 years, after agreeing to split the distance between their parents in Highland Park and Evanston. Charlie began his career as a C.F.A. at Scudder Stevens & Clark in Chicago. He spent his entire professional career as an investment counselor in Chicago, retiring in 1994 as Vice President and Head of the Personal Investment Group at The Chicago Title and Trust Company. Most of his clients became and remained friends for his entire career.
Charlie was active in civic organizations, serving on the Board of Directors of the University Club of Chicago, as a Commissioner of the Winnetka Park District, and as a director on the Skokie Country Club Board of Directors.
He relished attending and coaching youth sports, coaching his son in hockey and daughter in softball. An avid golfer, painter, and reader, Charlie was passionate about his beloved Chicago Cubs - a season ticket holder since 1982 – and ecstatic to see a World Series championship in his lifetime. Likewise, as a lifetime fan of the Blackhawks, Charlie and his son David went to many games together over forty years and rejoiced in seeing three Stanley Cups. But his true passions were his wife, his children, his six grandchildren, his life-long pals from Evanston, and dear friends from Winnetka, the Boulders in Arizona, and Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Friends and family alike use the same words to describe Charlie - kind, loving, gentle, happy, caring. His laughter was infectious, and more than his own many successes in life, Charlie took the most pride in the accomplishments of his friends and family.
Charles is survived by his wife, Susan; son, David Albert Rammelt (Susan); daughter, Anne Elliott Johnson (Matthew); grandsons, Taylor and Carson Rammelt and Hunter and Gardner Johnson; his granddaughters Charlotte Rammelt and Emma Johnson; his niece Elizabeth White Osterhues (Greg); and grandnieces Nelly, Annie, and Louise.
Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 2019, at Kenilworth Union Church, 211 Kenilworth Ave., Kenilworth, IL 60043. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends consider a donation in Charlie’s memory to the Winnetka Community House, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka, Illinois 60093.