Charles Svensson

Charles (Chuck) Svensson passed away Tuesday February 17, 2015 at his home in Whitehall surrounded by family. He was born on April 26, 1925 to Charles and Nora (Johnson) Svensson. Chuck was a direct descendant of the first Swedish settlers in the White Lake area. With the exception of time served in the Navy during WWII, he resided in the White Lake area all of his life. Upon returning from military service Chuck worked for Consumers Power as a lineman for thirty five years. He grew up on the shores of White Lake as a part of the White Lake Villa Resort family that had its beginning two generations before. Chuck was fascinated by boating and was an avid sailor. As a teenager, he purchased the design prototype Y-Flyer sailboat from its designer Alvin Youngquist. He sailed it in competition with great success. In later years his passion was saving neglected boats by restoring them to sail again. As builder of several iceboats, he didn't let winter keep him from sailing. He never met a boat he didn't like. In 1944, while in the Navy, he married his high school sweetheart Jeanette Ramthun. They recently celebrated seventy years of marriage on November 25, 2014. After the family resort was sold in the sixties, Chuck developed Windy Cove Campground on the current location of Windy Cove Condominiums. Chuck and his wife Jeanette eventually brought a suit against the tannery and won one dollar along with Genesco's requirement to connect to the waste water system. He is survived by his wife Jeanette and their three daughters Cheryl Veihl (Richard, deceased), Janet Grady (Jerry) and Deb Svensson (John Eridon), sister Eleanor (Svensson) Carlson, grandchildren Jim Veihl (Beth), Kristina (John) Richert, Carla (Rob) Vonk, great grandchildren Debbie (Zebadiah) DeMaeyer, Jessica Rickert, Collin Vonk, Micah And Elijah Veihl, nephews and nieces JC, Kay, Karen and Chuck and many close friends. He was preceded in death by his sister Grace. A celebration of a life well lived will be held at the family homestead at Lake and Main in Whitehall on February 28, 2015 from 2 to 5pm. In lieu of flowers please consider donations to Harbor Hospice.