R.I.P. Charles Hale "Chuck" Gover Jr.

Frostburg, MD-

Charles Hale Gover, Sr., 97, of Frostburg, formerly of LaVale, died Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at Sterling Care Frostburg Village.

Born May 3, 1922 in Frostburg, he was the son of the late Charles D. Gover and Lucy (Hale) Gover.

He was also preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, June E. (Ort) Gover; and his son Charles H. Gover, Jr.

I don't know what possessed me to look up my Air Force friend Chuck Gover online several minutes ago.  But instead of him, I saw several posts about his father who died in 2020 at the age of 97.  Of course, in the third line of his father's obituary which I copied over above, I learned that my friend, Chuck, had predeceased his father.  

I was Chuck's 742nd Missile Squadron sponsor when he failed pilot training and was given an assignment in missile at Minot in 1975, I believe.  We became friends.  Rather than live in the BOQ on the base along with many of us, he rented a house in the town of Minot.  Chuck was enamored of trains, boats and planes and especially cars.  He was a Titanic fanatic.  He also enjoyed movies.  I recall that we must have gone to at least a couple of them at a theater in Minot.

When the Air Force decided to downsize the missile crew force by putting a piece of magic tape over the acrylic door to the launch key hole, while also legally letting one crewmember sleep during new, 24-hour shifts, Chuck took advantage of the "early out" program and returned to Maryland and, eventually, West Virginia.  I called him one evening and we continued our friendship for the next several years.  Even though he was straight, he was highly supportive of my fight to remain in the Air Force after they discovered I was gay.

The photo above, and many others, I took when I visited him on that extended trip from Minot that took me to St. Louis (Dave Morris); Bloomington, Indiana (Darryl Butler); Morgantown, WVA (Chuck); Philadelphia (the Zito brothers and their family); and mom in California.  I would later fly from Colorado again to Morgantown, WVA, in the 1980's.  Chuck, his wife at the time, and I visited both Antietam and Gettysburg Civil War battlefields. 
                                                                                     
We last spoke after I had moved to the condo on Franklin St. in Denver.  The times to call him were not easy--this was before cell phones.  We stopped keeping in touch and lost all contact.  Now I know that he died several years ago and his father outlived him and his mother.  Now I have yet another friend from my past whom I know has died:

Patrick Mulaney
Rob McDonald
Kent Thomas
Chuck Gover
                                                                                   

Charles Hale “Chuck” Gover Jr., 67, of Morgantown, passed away on
Dec. 30, 2019 at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

Hale was born at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, to Charles H. Gover Sr. and June Ort Gover on Jan. 22, 1952. He attended Allegany High School in Cumberland, Md. and received his Bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University in 1974. He married Nancy Kremer, of Morgantown, on May 25, 1983 in Morgantown. He worked for over 25 years at the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey where he retired in 2007. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force.

Hale’s passions included dogs, cars and sports.

Hale is preceded in death by his wife Nancy and his mother June.

He is survived by his father, Charles H. Gover Sr., of Frostburg Village Assisted Living Facility, Frostburg, Md., his cousin Lewis R. Schumann of Naples, Fla., along with other cousins and close friends throughout the area which he considered to be his family.

He will be remembered in a celebration of life to be held at Batton Hollow Winery, Lost Creek, at a later date.