Charles Frederick Haywood

Charles Frederick Haywood died peacefully at home on August 10, 2024 after several days of precious visiting time with his wife, children, grandchildren and loved ones. He was 83 years old. Charlie was born at Lynn Hospital in Lynn, Massachusetts to Henry Stuart and Lillian (Allen) Haywood of Swampscott, Massachusetts. Charlie was educated in Swampscott Public Schools, Kimball Union Academy and graduated from the University of Vermont in 1964, with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Economics and Finance. While at UVM, he met his lovely wife, Frances, and they married on July 11, 1964 in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. They celebrated their 60th anniversary with all of their children and many of their grandchildren just last month.

Charlie was a dedicated businessman. Charlie joined Esso Oil Company in Providence, Rhode Island and had a very fine experience in their employ for four years. A fabulous stroke of luck was a transfer with Esso Oil Company in 1967 to manage all of the service stations in Maine. A second fortunate decision was to move to the wonderful Sherwood Forest neighborhood in Cape Elizabeth where the family established roots and made many lifelong friends with their neighbors. When Esso offered Charlie a position and transfer to Houston, Texas the realization came to the young couple that they did not want to leave Maine.

As more luck would have it, Charlie met and formed a strong friendship with Bob BaRoss who turned out to be an amazing mentor and he and Frannie became lifelong friends with Bob and his wife, Bev. Bob was instrumental in Charlie’s success as an entrepreneur. As close friends, the BaRoss family has been kind enough to lend their beach to Charlie and Frannie for annual lobster bakes, which have been treasured family gatherings.

Charlie founded Yankee Industrial Truck Corp representing Hyster Company in Maine and New Hampshire and had the extreme pleasure of playing with trucks every day for almost 45 years. Eventually the business became Hyster New England and encompassed all of New England offering sales, service, and rental equipment for a wide variety of customers. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his work and had many stories to tell about the Golden Road, Bath Iron Works, and especially building the business with his son, Peter. Always one to lend a hand, it is not uncommon to hear from his friends how “one day I needed a lift truck, so I called Charlie and next thing I knew it was being delivered.”

In 1975, Charlie and Fran moved from Sherwood Forest to a uniquely wonderful home on Shore Road, where they raised their children. They owned everything from Shetland ponies, to cows, to pigs and had horses on the property for 37 years. Charlie took great pride in Tom and Jerry, his stunning pair of Belgian draft horses. Charlie would often say “you haven't lived until you’ve had a pair of Belgians.” Charlie loved driving his red wagon pulled by Tom and Jerry on the streets of Cape Elizabeth and particularly enjoyed picking up local lobster a time or two while doing so.

Charlie absolutely loved being at their vacation home on Long Hill Road in South Woodstock, Vermont. Charlie’s parents purchased the land in 1950, and in an early example of recycling moved the soon to be replaced pro shop from their golf club to be the base of the home that is still there. Charlie’s parents formed many close friendships with neighbors which have turned into multi-generational friendships that continue today. As a child, Charlie spent considerable time in South Woodstock riding horses, including completing the 100 mile ride several times. Surely a highlight of his life was when Miss America presented him with the Green Mountain Horse Association Junior Horsemanship Award, the picture of which has been proudly shared by Charlie many (many!) times.

Charlie was a master at mixing work and pleasure and often said “it’s a good idea to have a little fun each day.” He spent considerable time in the woods, cutting down trees, bringing them down the hill with the tractor and splitting the logs into firewood. Charlie took great pleasure in delivering loads of firewood to family, friends and charities and always had toasty warm woodstoves and fireplaces. He also loved mowing the field and roads on the hill with his tractor, which were enjoyed by family, friends and many horseback riders. Charlie loved going for long jeep rides and ‘just riding the roads.’ Charlie would beam especially brightly when in a horse drawn carriage, and the four-horse hitch was his favorite for fall foliage tours. He and Frannie were generous with the use of their land and always loved when the GMHA 100 mile ride came through their property. While Charlie thoroughly enjoyed all of these activities, nothing could beat breakfast at the South Woodstock Country Store, where he would often gather with many of his friends to talk about the local news. When recently asked about his favorite part of Woodstock, none of us were surprised when he answered with “my pals.”

Charlie and Frannie enjoyed many trips to visit Charlie’s sister, Libby and her husband Pat, at Chalk Creek Ranch in Leakey, TX and always took great care to keep in touch with his nieces and their families. It was incredibly special to him that “the Texas crew” would make significant efforts to attend the annual lobster bakes.

Charlie always made a point to connect with people from all walks of life and had a knack for making everyone feel special. Some of Charlie’s closest friends were fraternity brothers from UVM and he loved hosting the annual ‘deer camp’ weekends in South Woodstock, which over the years became multi-generational events. He was fiercely dedicated to his family’s legacy. Whether it was the ‘Adopt A Tree Program’ he developed for all of his grandchildren, encouraging excellence in education or just knowing what each member of the family was up to, he always conveyed the importance of family as one of life’s most paramount undertakings.

Charlie is survived by his loving wife, Frances, his son Peter and his wife Beth of Chelmsford, MA, his daughter Nancy and her husband Nathan of Marlborough, MA, his daughter Stephanie of Andover, MA and his son Jeffrey and his wife Eleia of Hingham, MA. Charlie absolutely adored and was so proud of every one of his 13 grandchildren, Anna, Sophie, Ingrid and George Haywood, Jonah and Eli Hintz, Charlie, Will, Brooke and Phoebe Howard and Asher, Reid and Ford Haywood. Always happy to be called Uncle Charlie, he loved his nieces and nephews, Anne, Patricia, Pam, Karen, David and Andrew. Charlie will be reunited in Heaven with his parents and sister Elizabeth (Libby) and her husband Pat Bierschwale, his brother-in-law Sam Townsend and his sister-in-law Nancy (Heidi) Maginnis as well as many other loved ones from various parts of his life.

Family and friends will honor and remember Charlie’s life by gathering at Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home (199 Woodford St, Portland, ME) for calling hours from 4:00 to 7:00 on Friday, August 16th. A funeral will be held at 11:00 on Saturday August 17th at the First Congregational Church (301 Cottage Rd, South Portland, ME). Recognizing Charlie’s strong ties to South Woodstock and his cherished friendships there, a gathering celebrating Charlie’s life will be held early this fall at the South Woodstock Fire Station. The entire Haywood family would like to thank the true angels at Northern Lights Hospice and Compassionate Home Care by Jen LLC. The family is especially grateful to Boimah who cared for Charlie in his last days and was with Charlie and his family at his time of passing.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The South Woodstock Fire Protection Association, PO Box 1, South Woodstock, VT 05071, in memory of Charles Haywood.

A private family burial is planned for a later date in Riverside Cemetery, Cape Elizabeth.

Please visit www.jonesrichandbarnes.com to leave a tribute in Charlie’s memory.