Charles Hubert Alberhasky was born of this world to his parents Bernard J. Alberhasky and Katherine (Rodgers) Alberhasky on October 28, 1937 and left this world on December 7, 2020 in Iowa City Iowa. Raised in a hardscrabble life as the oldest of 4 brothers during the depression and World War II, he nevertheless persevered. Growing up, he loved to bike around town and visit with his grandfather, for whom he was named. When his father bought a farm with money made from running the Foxhead bar, young Charlie was charged with running the farm and helping to put food on the table. He learned early the value of work and never shied from hard work or scheming to make a dollar, whether it be from delivering newspapers or bartending at the Foxhead. No one worked harder than Charles. Due to a childhood illness he lost most of his hearing in one ear, but he would never let it hold him back and indeed it only made him louder and more determined to be heard.
Charles met his best and lifetime friend, Lee Smith, while attending high school at City High, when Lee snuck on to the Alberhasky farm pond without an invitation one cold winter day and started ice skating. After briefly questioning young Lee, young Charlie made quick friends with him and they bonded for life. Charles always enjoyed meeting new people. It was at a barn dance near Swisher, Iowa that he met the love of his life and future wife, Mary Ellen Schneider. She had four older brothers (Bob, Melvin, Maynard and Elmer Schneider), but to his credit he would not be intimidated or deterred, which is exactly how he lived his life. They married on August 1, 1959 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside and thus began their 61 year journey together. Upon leaving the wedding party and embarking on their honeymoon, the reverse gear on his car broke. They could only leave by going forward. It seems a parable that worked well for their marriage. The two complimented each other well, one boisterous and loud and the other quiet and thoughtful.
Charles earned a mechanics degree from the Allied Tool & Die school in Chicago and performed a litany of jobs before settling in as a supply clerk for the University of Iowa physical plant, but he really was up for any extra job or handyman task that would help support his family. He designed and built their home with his own hands. He collected more tools than he could ever use and loved both planting and cutting down trees. For many years he kept a large collection of old lawn mowers in various stages of repair that he was constantly tinkering with in order to keep running. Each of his four young children, Diane, Scott, Jackie and Randy (and oftentimes Mary Ellen!), were enlisted to mow lawns for hire on the weekends during the summer, in order to make spare money to pay for pizzas and other treats for the family. He wanted a daughter for his first child and his prayers were granted. When young Diane accidently destroyed a mower by running it over a sewer pipe Charles had just previously pointed out to Diane, he was exasperated but forgiving. Although he enjoyed loudly recounting that story and others like it for the remainder of his life. His children often protested the work he tasked them with and never appreciated the lesson about the value of hard work that he was teaching them, until much later in life. Except the time one Sunday when he made Scott and Randy move a truckload of bricks by wheelbarrow from an abandoned house across the street to their back yard for “future usage”; only to have to pile the bricks back into a truck and take them to the dump for disposal years later. The brothers still struggle to understand the life lesson learned from that job, but maybe some day it will come?
Charles loved to laugh, talk loudly and tell bad jokes. Jackie was often his muse and they would make each other giggle uncontrollably, such as when she bought him an ornamental nutcracker for Christmas one year and insisted he use it over his objections, only to have it break when she tried to crack a nut with it. They both laughed hysterically without end, as they were want to do. He very much loved retelling that story, over and over, each time louder and more emphatically.
Charles retired at age 50 because, he claimed to his bride, he was destined to die early. Thankfully, that did not happen and he spent the remainder of his years doing whatever he wanted to do, or nothing at all: growing tomatoes, mushroom hunting, cutting wood, watching TV, chatting with his neighbors while on his porch smoking a cigar and drinking a beer and telling long stories to his grandchildren, (to their collective dismay). He spent one entire summer fishing and caught enough to feed all of his Schneider in-laws at a fish fry, no easy task given the quantity and well known appetite of the Schneiders. He of course insisted that his brother-in-law Bob Schneider do the actual work of frying the fish.
Every family has a character. Someone unique and irreplaceable who adds to the spice of life. Charles was very much that character for his family. He wasn’t perfect, he could be intemperate and obstinate, but he was ours and we loved him very much.
Charles and Mary Ellen put each of their four children through college at the University of Iowa. Each also went on to obtain a graduate degree. Charles is survived by his wife Mary Ellen, his daughter Diane (Alberhasky) Hauser with her sons Zachary Johnston and Eli Johnston (wife Leila, son Roan) and her husband Dale and his daughter Harmony; his son Scott Alberhasky and his wife Loren Alberhasky; his daughter Jackie (Alberhasky) Urcuyo and her husband Ruben Urcuyo with their children Isaac, Jacob and Madeline; and Randy Alberhasky with his children Derrick, Maya, Grant, Drake and Quincy. He is also survived by Tricia Lacey, his “adopted” daughter and her mother Judy Johnston; as well as his brothers David and Raymond (wife Teressa), and Lee Smith’s wife Barbara Smith. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and brother Daniel, as well as his dear friend Lee Smith.
There will be no visitation and a small funeral will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City, Iowa on December 10, 2020 at 10:00 am. Friends and family may attend but are encouraged to view the funeral online in this time of COVID. Please be safe. A celebration of the life of Charles Hubert Alberhasky will be held in the summer at a safer time and place. In lieu of flowers, donations to CommUnity Crises Services and Food Bank would be recommended, to those inclined to give in his name.
Obituary courtesy of Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Charles met his best and lifetime friend, Lee Smith, while attending high school at City High, when Lee snuck on to the Alberhasky farm pond without an invitation one cold winter day and started ice skating. After briefly questioning young Lee, young Charlie made quick friends with him and they bonded for life. Charles always enjoyed meeting new people. It was at a barn dance near Swisher, Iowa that he met the love of his life and future wife, Mary Ellen Schneider. She had four older brothers (Bob, Melvin, Maynard and Elmer Schneider), but to his credit he would not be intimidated or deterred, which is exactly how he lived his life. They married on August 1, 1959 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside and thus began their 61 year journey together. Upon leaving the wedding party and embarking on their honeymoon, the reverse gear on his car broke. They could only leave by going forward. It seems a parable that worked well for their marriage. The two complimented each other well, one boisterous and loud and the other quiet and thoughtful.
Charles earned a mechanics degree from the Allied Tool & Die school in Chicago and performed a litany of jobs before settling in as a supply clerk for the University of Iowa physical plant, but he really was up for any extra job or handyman task that would help support his family. He designed and built their home with his own hands. He collected more tools than he could ever use and loved both planting and cutting down trees. For many years he kept a large collection of old lawn mowers in various stages of repair that he was constantly tinkering with in order to keep running. Each of his four young children, Diane, Scott, Jackie and Randy (and oftentimes Mary Ellen!), were enlisted to mow lawns for hire on the weekends during the summer, in order to make spare money to pay for pizzas and other treats for the family. He wanted a daughter for his first child and his prayers were granted. When young Diane accidently destroyed a mower by running it over a sewer pipe Charles had just previously pointed out to Diane, he was exasperated but forgiving. Although he enjoyed loudly recounting that story and others like it for the remainder of his life. His children often protested the work he tasked them with and never appreciated the lesson about the value of hard work that he was teaching them, until much later in life. Except the time one Sunday when he made Scott and Randy move a truckload of bricks by wheelbarrow from an abandoned house across the street to their back yard for “future usage”; only to have to pile the bricks back into a truck and take them to the dump for disposal years later. The brothers still struggle to understand the life lesson learned from that job, but maybe some day it will come?
Charles loved to laugh, talk loudly and tell bad jokes. Jackie was often his muse and they would make each other giggle uncontrollably, such as when she bought him an ornamental nutcracker for Christmas one year and insisted he use it over his objections, only to have it break when she tried to crack a nut with it. They both laughed hysterically without end, as they were want to do. He very much loved retelling that story, over and over, each time louder and more emphatically.
Charles retired at age 50 because, he claimed to his bride, he was destined to die early. Thankfully, that did not happen and he spent the remainder of his years doing whatever he wanted to do, or nothing at all: growing tomatoes, mushroom hunting, cutting wood, watching TV, chatting with his neighbors while on his porch smoking a cigar and drinking a beer and telling long stories to his grandchildren, (to their collective dismay). He spent one entire summer fishing and caught enough to feed all of his Schneider in-laws at a fish fry, no easy task given the quantity and well known appetite of the Schneiders. He of course insisted that his brother-in-law Bob Schneider do the actual work of frying the fish.
Every family has a character. Someone unique and irreplaceable who adds to the spice of life. Charles was very much that character for his family. He wasn’t perfect, he could be intemperate and obstinate, but he was ours and we loved him very much.
Charles and Mary Ellen put each of their four children through college at the University of Iowa. Each also went on to obtain a graduate degree. Charles is survived by his wife Mary Ellen, his daughter Diane (Alberhasky) Hauser with her sons Zachary Johnston and Eli Johnston (wife Leila, son Roan) and her husband Dale and his daughter Harmony; his son Scott Alberhasky and his wife Loren Alberhasky; his daughter Jackie (Alberhasky) Urcuyo and her husband Ruben Urcuyo with their children Isaac, Jacob and Madeline; and Randy Alberhasky with his children Derrick, Maya, Grant, Drake and Quincy. He is also survived by Tricia Lacey, his “adopted” daughter and her mother Judy Johnston; as well as his brothers David and Raymond (wife Teressa), and Lee Smith’s wife Barbara Smith. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and brother Daniel, as well as his dear friend Lee Smith.
There will be no visitation and a small funeral will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City, Iowa on December 10, 2020 at 10:00 am. Friends and family may attend but are encouraged to view the funeral online in this time of COVID. Please be safe. A celebration of the life of Charles Hubert Alberhasky will be held in the summer at a safer time and place. In lieu of flowers, donations to CommUnity Crises Services and Food Bank would be recommended, to those inclined to give in his name.
Obituary courtesy of Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Charles Hubert Alberhasky was born of this world to his parents Bernard J. Alberhasky and Katherine (Rodgers) Alberhasky on October 28, 1937 and left this world on December 7, 2020 in Iowa City Iowa. Raised in a hardscrabble life as the oldest of 4 brothers during the depression and World War II, he nevertheless persevered. Growing up, he loved to bike around town and visit with his grandfather, for whom he was named. When his father bought a farm with money made from running the Foxhead bar, young Charlie was charged with running the farm and helping to put food on the table. He learned early the value of work and never shied from hard work or scheming to make a dollar, whether it be from delivering newspapers or bartending at the Foxhead. No one worked harder than Charles. Due to a childhood illness he lost most of his hearing in one ear, but he would never let it hold him back and indeed it only made him louder and more determined to be heard.
Charles met his best and lifetime friend, Lee Smith, while attending high school at City High, when Lee snuck on to the Alberhasky farm pond without an invitation one cold winter day and started ice skating. After briefly questioning young Lee, young Charlie made quick friends with him and they bonded for life. Charles always enjoyed meeting new people. It was at a barn dance near Swisher, Iowa that he met the love of his life and future wife, Mary Ellen Schneider. She had four older brothers (Bob, Melvin, Maynard and Elmer Schneider), but to his credit he would not be intimidated or deterred, which is exactly how he lived his life. They married on August 1, 1959 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside and thus began their 61 year journey together. Upon leaving the wedding party and embarking on their honeymoon, the reverse gear on his car broke. They could only leave by going forward. It seems a parable that worked well for their marriage. The two complimented each other well, one boisterous and loud and the other quiet and thoughtful.
Charles earned a mechanics degree from the Allied Tool & Die school in Chicago and performed a litany of jobs before settling in as a supply clerk for the University of Iowa physical plant, but he really was up for any extra job or handyman task that would help support his family. He designed and built their home with his own hands. He collected more tools than he could ever use and loved both planting and cutting down trees. For many years he kept a large collection of old lawn mowers in various stages of repair that he was constantly tinkering with in order to keep running. Each of his four young children, Diane, Scott, Jackie and Randy (and oftentimes Mary Ellen!), were enlisted to mow lawns for hire on the weekends during the summer, in order to make spare money to pay for pizzas and other treats for the family. He wanted a daughter for his first child and his prayers were granted. When young Diane accidently destroyed a mower by running it over a sewer pipe Charles had just previously pointed out to Diane, he was exasperated but forgiving. Although he enjoyed loudly recounting that story and others like it for the remainder of his life. His children often protested the work he tasked them with and never appreciated the lesson about the value of hard work that he was teaching them, until much later in life. Except the time one Sunday when he made Scott and Randy move a truckload of bricks by wheelbarrow from an abandoned house across the street to their back yard for “future usage”; only to have to pile the bricks back into a truck and take them to the dump for disposal years later. The brothers still struggle to understand the life lesson learned from that job, but maybe some day it will come?
Charles loved to laugh, talk loudly and tell bad jokes. Jackie was often his muse and they would make each other giggle uncontrollably, such as when she bought him an ornamental nutcracker for Christmas one year and insisted he use it over his objections, only to have it break when she tried to crack a nut with it. They both laughed hysterically without end, as they were want to do. He very much loved retelling that story, over and over, each time louder and more emphatically.
Charles retired at age 50 because, he claimed to his bride, he was destined to die early. Thankfully, that did not happen and he spent the remainder of his years doing whatever he wanted to do, or nothing at all: growing tomatoes, mushroom hunting, cutting wood, watching TV, chatting with his neighbors while on his porch smoking a cigar and drinking a beer and telling long stories to his grandchildren, (to their collective dismay). He spent one entire summer fishing and caught enough to feed all of his Schneider in-laws at a fish fry, no easy task given the quantity and well known appetite of the Schneiders. He of course insisted that his brother-in-law Bob Schneider do the actual work of frying the fish.
Every family has a character. Someone unique and irreplaceable who adds to the spice of life. Charles was very much that character for his family. He wasn’t perfect, he could be intemperate and obstinate, but he was ours and we loved him very much.
Charles and Mary Ellen put each of their four children through college at the University of Iowa. Each also went on to obtain a graduate degree. Charles is survived by his wife Mary Ellen, his daughter Diane (Alberhasky) Hauser with her sons Zachary Johnston and Eli Johnston (wife Leila, son Roan) and her husband Dale and his daughter Harmony; his son Scott Alberhasky and his wife Loren Alberhasky; his daughter Jackie (Alberhasky) Urcuyo and her husband Ruben Urcuyo with their children Isaac, Jacob and Madeline; and Randy Alberhasky with his children Derrick, Maya, Grant, Drake and Quincy. He is also survived by Tricia Lacey, his “adopted” daughter and her mother Judy Johnston; as well as his brothers David and Raymond (wife Teressa), and Lee Smith’s wife Barbara Smith. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and brother Daniel, as well as his dear friend Lee Smith.
There will be no visitation and a small funeral will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City, Iowa on December 10, 2020 at 10:00 am. Friends and family may attend but are encouraged to view the funeral online in this time of COVID. Please be safe. A celebration of the life of Charles Hubert Alberhasky will be held in the summer at a safer time and place. In lieu of flowers, donations to CommUnity Crises Services and Food Bank would be recommended, to those inclined to give in his name.
Obituary courtesy of Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Charles met his best and lifetime friend, Lee Smith, while attending high school at City High, when Lee snuck on to the Alberhasky farm pond without an invitation one cold winter day and started ice skating. After briefly questioning young Lee, young Charlie made quick friends with him and they bonded for life. Charles always enjoyed meeting new people. It was at a barn dance near Swisher, Iowa that he met the love of his life and future wife, Mary Ellen Schneider. She had four older brothers (Bob, Melvin, Maynard and Elmer Schneider), but to his credit he would not be intimidated or deterred, which is exactly how he lived his life. They married on August 1, 1959 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside and thus began their 61 year journey together. Upon leaving the wedding party and embarking on their honeymoon, the reverse gear on his car broke. They could only leave by going forward. It seems a parable that worked well for their marriage. The two complimented each other well, one boisterous and loud and the other quiet and thoughtful.
Charles earned a mechanics degree from the Allied Tool & Die school in Chicago and performed a litany of jobs before settling in as a supply clerk for the University of Iowa physical plant, but he really was up for any extra job or handyman task that would help support his family. He designed and built their home with his own hands. He collected more tools than he could ever use and loved both planting and cutting down trees. For many years he kept a large collection of old lawn mowers in various stages of repair that he was constantly tinkering with in order to keep running. Each of his four young children, Diane, Scott, Jackie and Randy (and oftentimes Mary Ellen!), were enlisted to mow lawns for hire on the weekends during the summer, in order to make spare money to pay for pizzas and other treats for the family. He wanted a daughter for his first child and his prayers were granted. When young Diane accidently destroyed a mower by running it over a sewer pipe Charles had just previously pointed out to Diane, he was exasperated but forgiving. Although he enjoyed loudly recounting that story and others like it for the remainder of his life. His children often protested the work he tasked them with and never appreciated the lesson about the value of hard work that he was teaching them, until much later in life. Except the time one Sunday when he made Scott and Randy move a truckload of bricks by wheelbarrow from an abandoned house across the street to their back yard for “future usage”; only to have to pile the bricks back into a truck and take them to the dump for disposal years later. The brothers still struggle to understand the life lesson learned from that job, but maybe some day it will come?
Charles loved to laugh, talk loudly and tell bad jokes. Jackie was often his muse and they would make each other giggle uncontrollably, such as when she bought him an ornamental nutcracker for Christmas one year and insisted he use it over his objections, only to have it break when she tried to crack a nut with it. They both laughed hysterically without end, as they were want to do. He very much loved retelling that story, over and over, each time louder and more emphatically.
Charles retired at age 50 because, he claimed to his bride, he was destined to die early. Thankfully, that did not happen and he spent the remainder of his years doing whatever he wanted to do, or nothing at all: growing tomatoes, mushroom hunting, cutting wood, watching TV, chatting with his neighbors while on his porch smoking a cigar and drinking a beer and telling long stories to his grandchildren, (to their collective dismay). He spent one entire summer fishing and caught enough to feed all of his Schneider in-laws at a fish fry, no easy task given the quantity and well known appetite of the Schneiders. He of course insisted that his brother-in-law Bob Schneider do the actual work of frying the fish.
Every family has a character. Someone unique and irreplaceable who adds to the spice of life. Charles was very much that character for his family. He wasn’t perfect, he could be intemperate and obstinate, but he was ours and we loved him very much.
Charles and Mary Ellen put each of their four children through college at the University of Iowa. Each also went on to obtain a graduate degree. Charles is survived by his wife Mary Ellen, his daughter Diane (Alberhasky) Hauser with her sons Zachary Johnston and Eli Johnston (wife Leila, son Roan) and her husband Dale and his daughter Harmony; his son Scott Alberhasky and his wife Loren Alberhasky; his daughter Jackie (Alberhasky) Urcuyo and her husband Ruben Urcuyo with their children Isaac, Jacob and Madeline; and Randy Alberhasky with his children Derrick, Maya, Grant, Drake and Quincy. He is also survived by Tricia Lacey, his “adopted” daughter and her mother Judy Johnston; as well as his brothers David and Raymond (wife Teressa), and Lee Smith’s wife Barbara Smith. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and brother Daniel, as well as his dear friend Lee Smith.
There will be no visitation and a small funeral will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City, Iowa on December 10, 2020 at 10:00 am. Friends and family may attend but are encouraged to view the funeral online in this time of COVID. Please be safe. A celebration of the life of Charles Hubert Alberhasky will be held in the summer at a safer time and place. In lieu of flowers, donations to CommUnity Crises Services and Food Bank would be recommended, to those inclined to give in his name.
Obituary courtesy of Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
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