Obituary of Charles E. Call

STOW - Charles E. Call, 99, the son of Howard and Laura (McCauley) Call, passed away on August 17, 2020. He leaves behind his loving wife of over 75 years Jean (Point), son Howard (Theresa), and daughter Suzanne C. Cryst (Michael); six grandchildren, Leeann (Bill) Bush, Cathy (Rob) Cunningham, Charles (Elissa) Call, Amanda (Mike) Ray, Mike “MJ” Cryst (Kaila Miller), and Laura Cryst (Peter Simon), 19 great-grandchildren, two nephews - Jeff (Jan) Call, Stephen Point, and two nieces - Sarah Call (Steve), Julie (Martin) Kinsman. Also left behind are many others that he mentored and influenced over his years. A graduate of Stow High School, Charles was a man of many talents as he kept the family farm - of which he was the 5th generation - with a productive dairy herd, raised chickens, grew wheat, corn, hay, trees, and had a 20 acre sugar bush to produce maple syrup each spring. Many farm tours of children, college students and adults both local and international visited Call's Farm to gain knowledge of how American farming had evolved and its part in the American food supply. He was also known for his talent as a square dance caller with his “Red Socks” band, thus his trademark favorite color. Charles was past Master of Darrow Street Grange of which he was a life member; Director Emeritus of the Grange Mutual Casualty Company, and past Chief of the Ohio Department of Reclamation, Division of Natural Resources in Columbus. Ever civic minded, Charles was recognized for 26 years of service to Stow government, primarily the Civil Service Commission that he chaired for ten years. He also served on Summit County Farm Bureau, Summit County Soil, and Water Conservation Cooperative, Ohio Rural Development Council, Board of Trustees, Ohio Oil and Gas Association, Ohio Fair Plan Underwriting Association, The Ohio State College of Agriculture Extension Advisory Committee, Summit County Dairy Board, Ohio Parks and Recreation Council, and President Cleveland Farmers' Club. With his years of involvement in 4-H, Charles was most proud to have been instrumental as one of the founding board members in obtaining land from the county commissioners in the mid 1950’s to reorganize the Summit County Agricultural Society, now the home of the Summit County Fair in Tallmadge, Ohio. Ever the visionary, his goal for the future use of the land resulted in the “Call's Farm” housing development – a vibrant, family centered community. Should one be interested, his wish in lieu of flowers, is to make a donation to the Summit County Junior Fair Building Fund. https://www.summitfair.com/uploads/Youth%20Building%20Campain%20Fund.pdf