Charles (Charley) F. Gross, age 100, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and cherished uncle died peacefully on March 14, 2021 in Silver Spring, MD after living to celebrate his 100th birthday with his wife and family.
He was born in New York, NY on March 10, 1921 and spent most of his childhood on City Island, NY and worked at Ratsey and Lapthron, Inc. after graduating high school. Charley enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 19, 1943 and served in the 29th Infantry Division, 29th Signal Company during WWII and landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day, earning the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in military operations. He also received a Distinguished Unit Badge, Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, and a WWII Victory Medal.
Charley married the love of his life, Theresa (Terry) Lassandro on August 7, 1948. They moved from City Island, NY to Burlington, Vermont where they had their daughter, Amy, and Charley received his BS from the University of Vermont. They then moved to Kingston, Rhode Island where they had their first son, Kenneth, and where Charley received his MS from the University of Rhode Island. From there, they moved to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania where they welcomed their second son, Timothy, and where Charley began his long career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an agronomist at the U.S. Pasture Laboratory on the Penn State campus.
After living in Pleasant Gap for several years, the family moved to Fairbrook (outside State College) in 1960 where they spent many happy years and had wonderful neighbors who were especially kind in the years prior to Charley and Terry moving to assisted living in Silver Spring, MD to be close to their three children and their families (Amy & Lester and their children Benjamin, Amanda, and grandson Anthony); (Ken & Leah and their son, Alex); (Tim & Kim and their children Nathan & wife Lori and children Brandon, Aidan, Colin, Elijah, Quentin and Ainsley; and Adam & wife Andi and children Adam [AJ] and Jackson).
Charley had a deep appreciation of the outdoors and enjoyed gardening, camping, fishing, and taking his children on country walks to pass on his love of nature. He relished taking rides in the mountains and parks of Pennsylvania. Some of his favorite times were summer vacations at the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Terry and their extended family. He had a passion for classical music, art, and science, and was a voracious reader and spent hours in libraries, bookstores and flea markets. He gifted his family and friends with books he knew they would enjoy, and to open a book and read his personal inscription brings a warm feeling.
Charley was known for his humanity and kindness to all, and he taught his family the importance of being a caring, compassionate, and loving person. He lived what he preached and showed that the small things in life are the most important. He was a humble and gentle man who treated everyone with respect, and he had an incredible sense of humor. To his family, he showed that the measure of a man is how much love he gives, and to Terry he was a devoted husband for over 72 years. On his birthday, he was asked how he was able to live so long, and he put it simply, "love."
A private service is being planned at the Centre County Memorial Park in State College, PA.