1928 at Mercy Hospital in Hamilton, Ohio. He was the first child

Of Theodore Henry Bergedick and Charlotte Josephine Weber.

Charlie also had three sisters. We are fortunate to have two

of them here this morning. Jo Ann Cristello with her husband,

Ed from Natrona Heights in Pa. and Nancy Meyer from Terre

Haute, In. Judy Zeek, who lives in Ocala, Fl. was unable to make

the trip because of illness.

Charlie met the Marianists at Hamilton Catholic High School,

joined the Society of Mary and professed first vows on August

18, 1946 in Beacon N.Y., and perpetual vows at the Immaculate

Conception chapel on the campus of the University of Dayton

on August 15, 1952.

It is interesting to note that his father, Theodore, gave

Charlie his wedding ring for final vows because the three

fingers on his father’s left hand had been crushed in an

accident at work.

We learn from Charlie’s autobiography at age 75 that the

inside of the ring was engraved:

“From C.W. (Charlotte Weber) to T.B. (Theodore Bergedick), 6/4/24 (the date of their wedding). Charlie had added “to C.B. 8/15/52 –

The date of his perpetual profession. That heirloom will now

be passed on to a niece.

Fr. Charles began his ministry across the street in 1949 at

Chaminade High School teaching religion, English, Latin and

orientation. Orientation evidently included the history of

Ohio and Dayton as well as learning school songs and cheers.

In 1957 he was ordained a priest in the church of St. Michael in

Fribourg, Switzerland along with thirteen other seminarians

including Marianists Fr. John Mulligan and Fr. Paul Reich, but

also several Spiritines and Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.

Evidently, according to his autobiography, his father enjoyed

going around to all the newly ordained in the courtyard of

the church and getting their first blessing. And that

probably gives us a pretty good idea of how wonderful and

faith-filled his parents were…..

After ordination Fr. Charles went to St. John’s Home as

chaplain, teacher and counselor …..

Evidently he was also the intake officer, which according to

his autobiography “meant that every boy who came into the

home came through me. If some agency wanted to send a boy

to our home, they would ask for my name and address and

then send me all the pertinent information about the boy.

Invariably they would misspell my last name. Some

organization addressed their information to ‘Fr. Charles

Derelict.’ That was the last straw. From then on I told them

to send the material to “Fr. Charles.”

He was also at St. Joseph High School in Cleveland and back to

Hamilton Catholic as chaplain and teacher before heading

off to St. Patrick College in Asaba, Nigeria, Africa in January

of 1965. A few years later he went to Nkhata Bay Secondary

School in Malawi.

He returned to Dayton in 1974 via very brief stays in our places

in Australia and Hawaii….

And he notes in his autobigoraphy that when he arrived in

Dayton he realized that he had flown around the

world. Something that Magellan did in sail boats from 1519 to 1522.

Upon his arrival in Dayton, Fr. Charles returned to a new

school across the street, now it was Chaminade-Julienne

High School.

He then went to North Catholic High School for two years

before making the transition to parish ministry here at

Emmanuel Church with Fr. Jim McKay as the pastor.

He continued in pastoral ministry at St. Catherine of Sienna

Parish in Portage, Michigan and then Queen of Apostles Parish

here in Dayton. After that he served at St. Francis de

Sales Parish in Cincinnai and St. John Bosco Parish in

Mattawan, Michigan, before returning to the Dayton area.

First at St. Peter Church in Huber Heights and then

eventually back here at Emmanuel Parish for over ten years

with Fr. Lee Sciarrotta as pastor before illness took him to

Mercy Siena this past year.

We thank the staff at Mercy Siena for their wonderful care

of Fr. Charlie.

Thanks to Kim Evans and Judy Moehl for their excellent care.

Thanks to the Marianist community at Mercy Siena. Thanks to you, the parishioners here at Emmanuel and your pastor, Fr. Lee Sciarrotta.

Fr. Charles loved it here and he was loved here.

And I’m sure he will be remembered.

What more can you ask???