Obituary of Charles William Stobbie III

Charles William Stobbie III, 91, passed peacefully on March 21, 2017 at Stamford Hospital. Charles was born April 8, 1925 to Charles William Stobbie and Mary Agnus Murphy in New York City. He was part of the greatest generation and valiantly served his country in World War II as a Fire Controlman in the Navy. After returning home from the South Pacific in June of 1944, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Central Connecticut State University in New London and a Master's degree in education from the University of Bridgeport. Even though he served in the Navy, his ship did not really come in until he met the lovely Marie Furano by selling her a raffle ticket. They quickly fell for each other and got married. Marie was the love of his life and they enjoyed over 55 years of blissful marriage. Charles was a devoted husband and father to Holly Stobbie Ortega and Charles (Chuck) William Stobbie IV. As a dad, he stressed education and the importance of "persistence and determination". Charles taught thousands of students to read as a 30+ year employee of the Stamford Public School system. He wrote and published a book titled "Foolproof", which was a manual on how to teach reading. In addition to being an educator, he was dedicated to improving the lives of other educators and was President of the Stamford Federation of Teachers. Charles was a renaissance man, way before the term became popular. He loved to sail his Sunfish on Long Island Sound, garden, play tennis, and read the New York Times cover-to-cover. Giving back to the community was important, as he was the president and founder of the Cove Association, docent at the historical society, pollster, and volunteer at the Ferguson Library. He also served on the board of the Senior Men's Association and the Stamford Senior Center. Charles always enjoyed Marie's excellent cooking, especially anything Italian. While Marie cooked, he tended bar expertly preparing their favorite martinis. His two favorite holidays were Christmas Eve when he had the opportunity to eat 7 types of fish and St. Patrick's Day when corned beef and Guinness were enjoyed. For Charles no meal would be complete without a cup of espresso and sometimes a little Sambuca. In search for great food and fun, Charles loved to travel the world. He had an adventurous spirit whether it was climbing Diamond Head in his 80's or sampling barbecued eels in Northern Japan. Besides his lovely bride Marie, he is also survived by his brother, Jack Stobbie, and his six grandchildren, Heather Ortega, Chad Stobbie, Joey Ortega, Courtney Stobbie, Hunter Ortega and Hannah Ortega. He is also survived by Jane Stobbie Keer, daughter-in-law and Joe Ortega, son-in-law. He has been cared for the last 6 years by the wonderful Saint Sopio Gagnidze, who has become part of our family. Special thanks to Dr. Bhalodiya and the great team at Stamford Hospital. Services will be held on March 25, 2017 at 3:00 pm at the Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Friends of the Darien Library Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820