Charles E. Eccleston

Born on March 14, 1938 to Charles Edward Eccleston of Ashaway, RI and Ruth Craddock of New London, CT. Beloved husband of 45 years to Eleanor Allen Eccleston.

Charlie Eccleston was blessed with an adventurous spirit, a love for animals, for family, for sports, and Walt Disney. He was a stubborn character from early on. At the age of 4, when he could find no one to take him to see his beloved Aunt Toots and Uncle Heff, he decided to do so on his own. Charlie got on his tricycle in New London and crossed the Bridge to Groton. On the other side the police were waiting for this young boy and escorted him to see his aunt and uncle. He was also known to hop a train at the New London train station and go wherever it would take him. His family then moved to Groton near Thames Street, where he was always accompanied by his beloved dog, Bandit. Many new adventures awaited him on this side of the river.

Charlie entered Fitch High School in 1952. While at Fitch he pursued new interests in art and continued a love of sports. He played football and baseball and lettered in both sports. Baseball and art would take him to the University of Bridgeport, receiving scholarships in both. Two of his 12 grandchildren would eventually attend Fitch, pursue the arts and letter in sports, making him a proud Falcon.

Charlie would not graduate from the University of Bridgeport as life took a detour. He married Ann Montgomery and they had 4 children; Lynne Eccleston Valente, Gwynne Eccleston Ferguson, Paula Eccleston Smith, and Jon Eccleston. During this period of time he worked briefly at Pfizers, but his dream was to be on “the Hill” at Electric Boat. He began his work at Electric Boat in the yard as a pipefitter, but eventually made it to the Hill as a draftsman in the pipe fitting department. He would graduate from draftsman to designer to Supervisor of design over a 40 year career.

Electric Boat opened the world for him and his young family. Charlie was given the opportunity to move with EB to California, living in both Vallejo and Napa. He packed up his house, put the 3 young girls in the back of the station wagon and another adventure began. Each time he and his family traveled across the US he mapped out a new route to ensure they could see as many of the National Parks as possible. They would then explore California, with weekend camping trips to see the redwoods and sequoias, Sunday visits to the Japanese tea gardens in Golden Gate Park, and trips to Tahoe for skiing. As a child he wrote to Walt Disney often, so trips to Disneyland to see Walt’s work come to life were a given.

The family eventually moved back to southeastern CT, towing an old MGB that he would restore. In addition to his passion for cars, Charlie took up tennis and joined the ski patrol at Okemo Mountain in VT, sharing the love of these sports with his family.

In the late 70’s life would change for Charles. In 1977, he married Eleanor Allen and inherited 2 more children, Thomas Montgomery and Nancy Montgomery. Charlie and Ellie shared a love for tennis and played in the Thames Valley League. They would travel to see tennis tournaments throughout New England and would often spend time on the ski slopes on the east coast. If the UCONN men’s basketball team was home at Gampel, you could be sure Charlie and his buddy were there, as they had season tickets for many years. And both enjoyed relaxing afternoons watching Charlie’s favorite baseball team, the Yankees.

In the early 80’s Charlie and Ellie bought property in Hilton Head, SC. They eventually built a wonderful home there that they were very proud of. Charlie furnished their home with beautiful furniture he made, as woodworking was another of his skills. With love, they shared their home with their ever expanding family and enjoyed golf, tennis, bike rides, walks on the beach, and the warmer winter temperatures, typically splitting their time between their homes in Hilton Head and Norwich.

Charles’ survivors include his wife Ellie Eccleston, his children Lynne Valente, Gwynne Ferguson, Paula Smith, and Jon Eccleston; step children Thomas Montgomery, and Nancy Johnson; grandchildren Lauren Valente, Michael Valente, Sarah Ferguson, Will Ferguson, Elizabeth Eccleston, Madeline Eccleston, Chris Montgomery, Geoff Montgomery, Gretchen Grinsteinner, Brittany Johnson Houston, Cody Johnson, and Trevor Johnson. In addition there are 5 great grandchildren and 1 more on the way.

Calling hours / visitation for Charles will be held Monday, June 27, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Church & Allen Funeral Home, 136 Sachem St., Norwich, CT, followed by a funeral home service at 6:00 PM.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.churchandallen.com for the Eccleston family.