As close friends of his family, we were honored to be included in young Chuck’s memorial event held in New York City at a popular bar on East 26th Street, named Gstaad.  The owners Anthony and Andie Pace, friends and clients of Chuck’s, very graciously closed the bar for the night so that Chuck’s family and friends could celebrate his life.  Al Lopez, Steve Olsen and Andy Seymour, close friends of Chuck’s, very generously made arrangements for the superb food and Chuck’s signature beverages to be served.  All the wine, spirits and food served that evening was donated by friends, clients and colleagues.

There starting at 7 pm on a beautiful summery evening gathered approximately 125 of Chuck’s friends and family; they traveled from Florida, Maine,  Rhode Island,  Chicago, Virginia, Connecticut, Ontario, California, Colorado, Texas, New Jersey and the 5 boroughs of New York.  The music was appropriately from Chuck’s favorite CD collection, primarily Jimmy Buffet, of course. Countless significant photos of Chuck, in a slideshow prepared by Katy with the help of her cousin Mary, cycled poignantly on a large white wall. 

Speeches were lovingly shared by three close friends, Steve Olsen, Al “Big Sally” Lopez, and Andy Seymour, Chuck’s Uncle Jack, and Katy—Chuck’s youngest sister.  Also, very significantly, Nancy Wolpert—a close family friend, gratefully told of her husband’s miraculous receipt of one of Chuck’s kidneys. Chuck and his Dad would be so proud to know how many lives will be saved and improved because of Chuck’s ultimate generosity.

How moving it was to hear Chuck’s great friends and family lament their loss, and share memories of unforgettable times spent with Chuck.  They described how very close he was to his mother, Jana, father Chuck Sr., and sisters, Katy and Kelley, how affected he had been by his Dad’s death in November 2005, accomplishments in his career, and the profound joy he experienced with his precious daughter, Delaney.

Throughout the evening, guests reminisced and laughed at small tables, shared stories at the bar, and spilled outside onto the sidewalk to talk in the street.  Rumor has it that a number of Chuck’s friends and family departed well into the early hours of the morning.  Chuck would have loved the celebration, and all who came to his favorite big city seemed to take solace in the event.

  As terribly sad as the thought of Chuck departed makes us feel, it is somewhat consoling to revisit www. RememberingChuck.com where some of his happy moments and the people most important to him will remain.

Wendy & Billy Samara Warren, June 2007