Charles Kirkbride McLaughlin

Charles spent a lifetime caring for family. One of 9 children, he left high school and joined the Navy to support his family; couple of dollars in bonds for him each week, the rest of his pay he sent back home. And he hitchhiked back home to Paulsboro from Norfolk every chance he got. Charles spent 28 years with UPS; his first years as a local driver (Cherry Hill and East Greenwich) and his later years running a route between Lawnside and Baltimore. He was loved by his co-workers; his retirement party in 2000 was epic. Earlier years found him working construction with his uncle and running a power generation plant for Hercules. Of course, his real calling in life was as a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. As a dad, he never once raised his voice, but everyone knew his expectations. As a grandfather he was owned by the grands; a built-in babysitter who never said no. The best thing about being related to him was that he could fix just about anything and usually found it easier to pop over and just do it for you. Charles may have been quiet but those still waters ran deep: he went out of his way to foster meaningful connections with people. You’d find no better friend if you were broken down on the side of the road and he knew every rest stop waitress and gas attendant from here to Baltimore. He’d pop in from time to time during his retirement to check up on them. He was funny; always some witty one liner when you least expected it, delivered with a mischievous grin. He spent a lifetime following racing, especially his brother, Jackie and brother-in-law, Budd Olson. Charles accompanied them to all the races, was a regular at Bridgeport and Flemington, made a yearly pilgrimage to Syracuse and even attended the first Daytona 500, taking a spin around the track. His own racing career was notably short; a blown drive shaft after 1 lap. It was also a lifetime of loving cars; he always drove something cool, most recently a 1930 Model A (the grands always wanted a ride in the “Oogah”). Charles cheered the Phillies and the Eagles, once got to see the Boston Red Sox play though he was a day early; Neil Diamond performed at the stadium the day before. He was raised in Paulsboro and settled in Clarksboro.
One fateful evening Charles and just about everybody else in the area ventured off to Pitman to see his brother, Jack race. It’s there he’d meet a pretty girl named Judy. The two would share a 64-year marriage blessed by three children, Kevin (Gay), Kirk (Michele) and Janet; grandchildren, Dr Bradford McLaughlin (Danielle), Kathryn Cottengim (A.J.), Dr Kelsey Nixon (Layne), Kyle McLaughlin (Brandi), Kale McLaughlin, John Waychunas, and Hilary Waychunas; great-grandchildren, Logan, William, Clayton, Josephine, and Callum. He was pre-deceased by siblings, Audrey Olsen (Budd), Marion Colna (Les), Mildred Kershaw (Alfred), Jack McLaughlin (Sandy), Esther Jurgelis (George), Donna Brown (Richard), and Dorothy Pine (Robert); and he is survived by his sister, Lynn McLaughlin and many nieces and nephews.
Come celebrate 87 great years, Wednesday, June 3, 10 a.m. to noon at Daley Life Celebration Studio, Swedesboro where there will be a noon Storytime service. Interment Gloucester County Veteran’s Cemetery, Monroe Township. Donations in lieu of flowers to South Jersey Food Bank (1501 John Tipton Blvd, Pennsauken NJ 08110) or Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (parentprojectmd.org) will be appreciated.