Charles B. “Charlie” Hale, 84
Charlie Hale, 84, of Rochester, died Jan. 31, 2009 at Charter House Hospice Suites following a lengthy illness.
Born Jan. 7, 1925, in Rochester, he was raised in Stewartville, Minn., where he attended grade school and high school, and farmed with his family. Following high school, he enlisted in the Army and served during World War II. In 1950 he moved to Chatfield, Minn. with family to help his recovery from polio. In 1953 he was hired by the Post-Bulletin as a photographer. He moved to Rochester in 1961 and became the head photographer that same year. During his tenure, he won numerous photography awards and photographed many popular public figures including: Ed Sullivan, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Danny Kaye, western movie star Randolph Scott, Hubert Humphrey, Joe Biden, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Billy Graham. He retired in 1986 after 33 years with the Post-Bulletin. On April 15, 1945, he married Helen Marie Gardner at Camp Fannin in Tyler, Texas. His wife, a retired Mayo Clinic employee, survives. Charlie was an avid gardener and enjoyed carpentry and writing letters to friends. He was a lifelong member of VFW Post 1215, American Legion Post 92 and the World War II Last Veterans Club at Post 92.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Roberta Schwartz, Rose Creek.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a son-in-law, Charles Schwartz.
The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, at Macken Funeral Home with pastor Nancy Wheeler Handlon officiating. Burial will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens. Friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Macken Funeral Home, and an hour before the service Thursday at the funeral home. The family prefers memorials to Mayo Clinic hematology and nephrology research or Christ United Methodist Church of Rochester.