Charles R. “Chas” Gulick, 93, of Easton, died Sunday, April 23, 2017 in his home.
Born September 3, 1923 in Phillipsburg, NJ, he was a son of the late Charles S. and Ruth (Fahs) Gulick. He and his wife, Evelyn “Evie” (Bellis) Gulick were married 67 years.
Chas graduated from Phillipsburg High School in 1941, and was an active member of his class reunion committee. He was a proud Army Veteran, serving during WWII.
Chas was a reporter and editor for the then Easton Express for 23 years. During his tenure there, he wrote numerous stories and headlines, covered the 1955 Easton flood in a rowboat and was selected by the paper to cover JFK’s funeral in 1963. He then worked as an editor for the Morning Call for 16 years, and for the Journal of Commerce in Phillipsburg, NJ for 10 years.
Chas was a true wordsmith, and used his amazing talent to write press releases for Chansonnette Theatre and Two Rivers Area Commerce Council. He co-wrote the Bicentennial Pageant in Easton in 1976, which was the forerunner of Easton’s Heritage Day. Chas also recorded several radio ads for WEST.
In 1946, Chas joined the Easton Express Glee Club. The group merged with the Easton Player’s Guild in 1948 to form Chansonnette Theatre. It was there he met Evie, and they both became charter members of Chansonnette. Chas went on to perform in over 50 Chansonnette productions. His favorite roles were FDR in “Annie”, and Mayor Shinn in “The Music Man”. Chas also worked behind the scenes at Chansonnette, selling ads, tickets, ushering and painting sets. He loved performing in Chansonnette’s small shows at local nursing homes throughout the Valley. Chas lent his beautiful baritone voice in these shows to “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Camelot, and loved singing the duet “I Remember It Well” from Gigi with his dear friend, Jean McClay.
He was a member of the former Olivet Presbyterian Church, Easton where he loved singing in the church choir. Most recently, he was a member of First Moravian Church, Easton.
Chas’s rapier wit and sense of humor were legendary. He found the humor in everyday life, and never took himself too seriously. His vast encyclopedic knowledge made him men’s team leader of many late night Trivial Pursuit games, and made him the “answer guy” for any questions regarding Easton, the Lehigh Valley and trivia in general. He loved crossword puzzles, opera, Nestle Crunch bars and was a lifelong Philadelphia Phillies fan.
However, Chas’s greatest role was husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was affectionately known as Dad, Pappy or Pappy Chas by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren alike as well as many family friends.
He is lovingly missed by his wife, Evelyn “Evie”, his two daughters, Donna Giobbi and her husband, Herb of Arlington, VA and Angel Gulick of Easton, a son, Mark R. Gulick and his wife, Rhonda of Whitehall, his 6 grandchildren Shannon, Matthew, Ashley, Amanda, Jared and Ben, and 3 great grandchildren, Lauren, Jayden and Savana. His brother, Robert F. Gulick died earlier.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, April 28, 2017 in First Moravian Church, 225 N. 10th St., Easton. The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling the arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be made to Lehigh Valley Hospice, 2024 Lehigh St., Suite 100, Allentown, PA 18103. Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.
