LACONIA ---- Charles ‘Chuck’ E. Cladel, 83, of Laconia, NH and formerly of Hummelstown, PA, passed away on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at his home in the Taylor Community.
Chuck was raised in Ithaca, NY, where he was born on June 5, 1939, to Charles and Mabel (MacGregor) Cladel.
He was a graduate of the University of Rochester, where he met his wife, Nancy, as well as the Upstate Medical Center College of Medicine in Syracuse, NY. He did a rotating internship at Marion County General Hospital in Indianapolis and a first year of psychiatric residency at the Indiana University College of Medicine. His son David was born during this period in 1967.
He then spent two years in the Air Force in Alaska serving military men and their families at the Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage during the Vietnam War. His daughter Anne was born during this time in 1970. After his tenure in the service, the family moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where Chuck completed residencies in General and Child Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. In 1973 the family moved to Hummelstown, PA where the children grew up and where Chuck and Nancy lived for 48 years until moving to Laconia in 2021. He was a beloved member of the Taylor Community and was well known for his smile and his friendly demeanor.
In Pennsylvania, Chuck helped establish the Family Psychiatry program at the Hershey Medical Center before going on to build a private practice in Child Psychiatry, through which he became very well respected in the field throughout Central PA. This in turn lead to an invitation to serve on the staff of Holy Spirit Hospital, where he was Chief of Psychiatry for many years.
He worked in schools, mental health centers, a school for adjudicated delinquent children, and the Methodist Home for Children. He worked up until the age of 80 and loved every minute of it. He often said he would do it all over again if given the opportunity. His work was his calling. It reflected his humanitarian sense of solidarity and enabled him to contribute with both heart and head to helping children and families with their personal challenges throughout his long career.
He also enjoyed fishing, old cars, outdoor work, traveling, meeting new people, reading, and, of course, Nancy’s home-cooked meals. He was a founding member of the Manada Conservancy in Dauphin County, PA. Though originally a member of the Methodist Church, he ultimately found his house of reflection in the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, PA and, since 2021, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Laconia.
In addition to his wife, Nancy, to whom he was married for 60 years, he is survived by his son David Cladel (Claudia Baeza Lopez) of Coyhaique, Chile, his daughter Anne Altor (Edward LaPlante) of Campton, NH, his granddaughter Eloisa Cladel Baeza, his step-grandchildren, Emma, Chloe, and Chase LaPlante, his sister Nancy Scholes (Charles), and a large and beloved extended family.
Services will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Laconia, 172 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH 03246, on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at 1:00pm.
Contributions in Chuck’s memory would be appreciated by the Manada Conservancy (www.manada.org;) or the UUSL Minister’s Fund, 172 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH 03246.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.