Charles H. Fine

Charles Fine died as he lived, with humility and peace, at his new home in Brookline, Massachusetts on April 16, 2017, supported by the love and devotion of family and caregivers. He was 91 years old.

He was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1925 and grew up in Long Beach and Montauk, Long Island, and Laurelton, Queens. His parents, Gertrude and Leon Fine, both immigrated from Lithuania and raised three sons. Charles’ beloved younger brothers, Sanford and Jerome Fine, both predeceased him.

He served proudly on Guam in the South Pacific during WWII, an experience that informed the rest of his life. He graduated from Queens College, joined his father in the family laundry business, which he later ran as a commercial and drapery dry cleaning business. Much to his friends and family’s delight, he was hired to clean the New York Mets’ uniforms for several years that included their 1986 World Championship Season. He knew all the players and enjoyed telling people that he was the only person in the stands yelling, “Don’t slide!!!”

In 1955, he married Marylln Klein and together they raised three daughters in North Bellmore, Long Island and were active members of Temple Beth El of Bellmore. He was passionate about his Jewish heritage and devoted years after retirement to lecturing about Jewish immigration and conducting tours of the Lower East Side. He regularly volunteered to help settle Russian immigrants in Brooklyn, his way of giving back for the help his parents received when they were newcomers to this country.

Charles was pre-deceased by Marylln who died in 1993 and his oldest daughter, Beth, who died of breast cancer in 1998. He is survived by his daughters, Janet Fine and her husband, Larry Hardoon of Brookline, MA; Diane Fine of Plattsburgh, NY; and his grandchildren, Joshua Fine Kaplan and his wife Jenny Ninyo Kaplan; Aaron Fine Kaplan and his fiancé Chelsea Friedman; Zack Hardoon; Danielle Hardoon; his great granddaughter, Aviva Beth Kaplan; his longtime companion, Gerty Wolf; and beloved family and friends here and in Israel.

Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, April 19, 1:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El of Bellmore, 1373 Bellmore Road, North Bellmore, NY. Burial at Mt. Ararat Cemetery, 1165 Route 109, Lindenhurst, NY. A meal of consolation will be served at Temple Beth El at 5:00 p.m. followed by a shiva minyan at 7:30 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Temple Beth El of Bellmore, Hadassah-Youth Aliyah, and TargetCancer Foundation.