Charles Wesley Baugh's Obituary
Charles Wesley Baugh, Jr. died peacefully at home on the evening of August 24 at the age of 95. He is survived by Helen, his wife of 72 years, his seven children, thirteen grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and his sister Barbara Beckman of Dallas, Texas. He was born on March 14, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Charlie’s family was his pride and joy. He would pile all seven children into the family station wagon for camping vacations across the country, sharing the natural wonders of the world. He loved to canoe and to sail, piling all three family canoes on top of the station wagon for trips around Maryland and frequent trips up Severn Run. Charlie would occasionally attach a sail to the canoes, and his children somewhat mastered the art of keeping the sailing canoe upright. Everyone loved to waterski and explore the waterways on the family motorboat. At home, his basement was the original “maker space,” with a professional-grade wood and metal shop and an electronics collection that included over eight oscilloscopes, several Geiger counters, meters of all sizes and shapes, old vacuum tubes, and electrical parts overflowing from every drawer. His aversion to buying anything “off the shelf” inspired countless hours making things with his children and rigging up inventive contraptions around the house. He made an EKG machine to monitor his wife’s heartbeat – it had many wires and dials and even impressed her doctor. Additionally, he loved the physics of music and spent decades creating the perfect stereo system that featured a homemade turntable with a concrete platter spinning on a marble bearing, concrete horn speakers, and a corner klipschorn speaker – all truly amazing. He spent countless hours with his children and grandchildren, engaging them in science experiments, brain teasers, car repairs, and nature walks. On Christmas Eve, his children would leave out broken toys and on Christmas morning would awake to find them completely repaired. Every year, he would mastermind an Easter egg hunt on his one-acre property, with eggs suspended out of windows on fishing wire, balanced atop bamboo poles and tucked inside hollow logs. Over the years, he perfected an elaborate procedure for making homemade popcorn balls to give to the neighborhood children on Halloween. He became a fixture around Ben Oaks on his daily walks and will be remembered for his warm greetings to all passersby.
Charlie’s early fascination with electronics led him to a degree in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University. He worked various jobs to support his college education and honed his love of acoustics by managing the football team’s sound system. He enlisted in the Navy after his freshman year and was called to active duty in World War II following his junior year. As part of his officer training, he studied at Purdue and Columbia University. He then deployed to the South Pacific where he watched from his post on the USS Dennis (DE405) as the flag was raised over Iwo Jima and received the following medals: Asiatic-Pacific Area (2 stars), Philippine Liberation, World War II Victory. His Asiatic-Pacific Area Medal (with 2 stars) continues to be proudly stored in a leather box on his wife’s dresser. He later served in the Navy Reserves for eight years. After the war, he earned a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Caltech and spent his career working as an Advisory Research Electrical Engineer for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Princeton, Philadelphia and Baltimore. His innovation led to key technological advances, including the development of color television and the remote control, a high-energy laser known as the “Star Wars laser,” and the random access crosstie memory high-speed computer chip, the invention of which he was most proud. He worked on many cutting-edge programs, which he would only later identify as “Einstein-like.” He had many patents, thirty-two of which are listed by the US Patent Office’s online posting of historic patents.
A celebration of life reception for family and friends will be held on October 14th, 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Ben Oaks Community Beach, Severnside Drive, Severna Park, MD 21146. The reception will include Military Honors at 2:00 pm. Mr. Baugh’s final resting place will be the Arlington National Cemetery Columbarium.
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