CHICOPEE – Charles S. “Charlie” Walton, 90, of Chicopee, passed away on Thursday, July 9, 2026 at the Bethany Healthcare Center in Framingham. Charlie was born in Holyoke on September 8, 1935, a beloved son of the late Stanley Walton and Loretta (Parks) Walton. He was raised in Holyoke, received his master’s degree from Westfield State College, and has been a resident of Chicopee since 1960. He was a longtime teacher at West Springfield High School and a member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Charlie was a longtime communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus Fairview Council 4044, both in Chicopee. He was predeceased by his wife, Pauline Frances (Giusti) Walton who passed away in May 2022. They were married in August 1958 at Holy Cross Church in Holyoke and shared a long love affair together. Marrying Pauline also included her Italian family of cousins, aunts, uncles and his mother-in-law Ermina (Agosti) Giusti who was “Noni” to the family. His work career started early as a paperboy in Holyoke then graduated to deliveries for McAuslan & Wakelin. After college he was a long-time science teacher at Huntington High, then Gateway Regional and then West Springfield High where his focus was earth science and geology. His summers were mostly spent working around the house, but he attended a few geology expeditions through National Science Foundation grants that included time at Bucknell University and Vassar College. Some of the most fascinating collecting was for Herkimer diamonds and fluorescent minerals in NY state, and at the base of Niagara Falls. His career driving an ice cream truck in Chicopee one summer was short lived at one day. Through his long retirement, he and Pauline traveled to England, Scotland and Italy and then in the local area, but enjoyed a relatively quiet life on Longwood Drive in Chicopee. Dad loved to putter around the house and garden. He was a strong, serious man with great integrity, and with his mother’s wry (Irish) wit and sense of humor. He loved and missed Pauline, but with that strength he was both determined and blessed to have been independent at home since she passed away. He leaves his three children, Charles Walton Jr. and his wife Catherine, Susan (Walton) Arsenault and her husband Dennis, and James Walton and his wife Diane. He was “Grandpa” to his three grandchildren, Emily Keating, Kaitlyn Arsenault, and Emma Arsenault. He also leaves his sister-in-law, Louise Walton, and many nieces and nephews, friends and extended family members. In addition to his parents and wife, he was predeceased by his three brothers, Bruce Walton, Roger Walton and his wife, Noreen, and William Walton; and his sister, Jean (Walton) Scott and her husband, John “Scotty” Scott. His funeral and burial will be private. The St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 is assisting his family. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that memorial donations be made in Charlie’s memory to the Bethany Health Care Center, 97 Bethany Road, Framingham, MA 01702 (www.bethanyhealthcare.org) where he was wonderfully cared for over the past months. For more details and to leave his family condolence messages, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com.