Charles J. Ticho, age 95, died in his home at Kirkland Village in Bethlehem, Pa. on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Charles moved to Bethlehem with his wife Jean Ticho, to whom he was married for nearly 62 years, in November 2021 after having lived in Hackensack, N.J. for 13 years and Woodcliff Lake, N.J. for 42 years. The couple also maintained a residence in Rishon LeZion, Israel for the past two decades.
Charles was born in Czechoslovakia in 1927, the third of four sons born to Nathan and Fannie (nee Klein) Ticho. The Ticho family had a centuries-long leadership position in the Jewish community in the Moravian town of Boskovice while the Klein family hailed back to the famous Hungarian rabbi and sage, Joseph Schick. Charles’ father Nathan was a successful clothing manufacturer whose business was destroyed when the Nazi German army invaded the country on March 15, 1939. The Gestapo arrested Nathan and he was sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Charles’ mother Fannie was trapped in Switzerland, his older brother Harold had moved to the United States and Charles and his younger brother Steven were thrown out of their apartment. At the age of 12, Charles, along with Steven, successfully traveled across war-torn Europe to meet their mother in Switzerland.
The family managed to survive the Holocaust as a result of an incredible miracle. Charles’ mother was born in Chicago and most of her side of the family lived there. All attempts by her American family members failed to free her husband from the concentration camp or to gain the release of Charles and Steven from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. In desperation, when all else had failed, Ticho’s uncle, General Julius L. Klein, appealed to a former friend and military colleague, Generalissimo Italo Balbo, who was then the Governor of Libya and the commander of the Italian air force. Balbo promised to assist the family. Tragically, shortly after making this promise, the Generalissimo was killed in a plane crash.
With the death of the Generalissimo all efforts to free the family came to a halt. Clutching at straws, the family now appealed to El Duce, Benito Mussolini, the dictator governing Italy, and begged him to fulfill one of the late Generalissimo’s last promises. And, to everyone’s amazement and joy, the Italian authorities interceded with the Nazi government in Berlin and Charles and Steven were allowed to escape from the Holocaust and meet their mother in Switzerland. Nathan was also released from the concentration camp shortly thereafter and the family traveled to Portugal to board one of the last American ships that crossed the Atlantic to New York on November 6, 1940.
Charles volunteered to join the U.S, Navy when he reached the age of 17 ½ and served briefly during World War II. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a bachelors degree in electrical engineering. In 1954, He was invited to Israel to assist the fledgling film industry and work on the first locally produced full-length feature film entitled “Hill 24 Does Not Answer.” He spent two years on this assignment and also met his future wife Jean during that time.
Their romance blossomed even though they were separated for nearly five years with him in the United States while she was living in Australia. They married in September 1960.
Charles became a member of the Directors Guild of America in 1958 and remained a member the rest of his life. Charles initially specialized in directing commercials and industrial films. In his later years he became a leader in the field of staging conventions and conference programs.
Charles spent his life pursuing Jewish causes and interests. He was a strong supporter of the Jewish Day School in Allentown and most recently a member of Congregation Brith Sholom in Bethlehem. He was a member of Temple Emanuel in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. since 1966. He regularly lectured Jewish and non-Jewish high school groups regarding the Holocaust.
Charles researched the history of his family back to the late 1600’s and recalled their lives as well as his own experiences in two books that he published entitled “From Generation to Generation: A Family’s Story of Survival” in 2007 and “Stops Along the Way” which was released in January 2022 featuring several articles that he had written for the Jerusalem Post Magazine.
Charles is survived by his wife Jean, their children Robin Ticho and her husband Daniel Hicks of New York, N.Y. and Mahoning, Pa., Ron Ticho and his wife Pam Lott of Allentown, Pa. and Richard Ticho and his wife Sharon Anthony-Ticho of San Diego, Ca. He is also survived by his four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Harold Ticho, Steven Ticho and Leo Ticho.
Funeral arrangements are being handled Gutterman and Musicant Funeral Directors of Hackensack, N.J. and the funeral service will take place graveside at Cedar Park Cemetery, 735 Forest Avenue, Paramus, N.J. on Wednesday, June 8th at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Charles can be made to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. or the Jewish Day School of Allentown.
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