Charles Douglas Birch, 80

CAMDEN - Charles Douglas Birch, 80, of Camden, passed away on July 13, 2009, in Bayhealth Hospital after a bout with cancer. Mr. Birch was born on Dec. 10, 1928, in Wilmington, son of the late Charles William Birch and Mildred Jones Birch. He attended Pocomoke City, Md., elementary school with secondary school at Charlotte Hall Military Academy in southern Maryland, graduating in 1947 as class president. Mr. Birch attended the University of Maryland prior to enlisting in the Air Force during the Korean conflict. After an honorable discharge from the service, he worked as a manager of a moving and storage company in Newport News, Va. Coming to Delaware in 1955, he worked for Berry Van Lines and then at Hastings Cleaners. Charles and his wife Liz owned Birch Dry Cleaners for 18 years in Camden. He then worked for Wharton and Barnard, retiring in 1991. He was an avid golfer and a member of Maple Dale Country Club for over 40 years. During that time he won numerous local and regional tournaments and was a five time club champion. Recently, he held membership at Jonathan's Golf Club. He was also a member of the Camden-Wyoming Lions Club, Camden-Wyoming Rotary Club, Delaware Vets and the American Legion. Charles is survived by his wife of 59 ½ years, Elizabeth Anne Henderson Birch; four sons, Charles Douglas Birch and his wife Anne from Florida, Dr. Joseph Harlan Birch from Magnolia, Samuel Austin Birch and his wife Dale from California, and David Riley Birch and his wife Marcia from Maryland; one daughter, Teresa Anne Bonanno and her husband Tony from Felton; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, two sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law and several cousins. A memorial service will be 1 p.m. Thursday, July 16 at the Pippin Funeral Home, 119 W. Camden-Wyoming Ave., Wyoming, where the family will receive friends two hours earlier. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Delaware Hospice, 911 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901 or your favorite charity. Letters of condolences can be sent via www.pippinfuneralhome.com.