WILMINGTON — Charles Annable Root, 87, best known by his family and friends as “Chuck,” passed away Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, at Lower Cape Fear Hospice.
Chuck is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Karen Root; children, Kelly (Doug) Pelletier (and grandchildren, Tony and Annie Giglio), Craig (Lisa) Root, (and grandchildren, Isabel and Wyatt), Chris Faust (Abby Heller) (and grandchild, Lilli Heller/Lacroix), Mary (Scott) Murphy (and grandchildren, Ryan, Dylan and Brooke), Brian (Grace) Root (and grandchildren, Jack and Beau) and Matt Root; along with his sister, Joline Freund and family of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Chuck was born Feb. 25, 1933, in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, to Frank Lawton Root and May Heathcote Root. He grew up in Campbellford, Ontario, and graduated from Campbellford Secondary Institute before attending Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Canada, where he graduated with a degree in metallurgical engineering.
Chuck began his career at Houdaille Industries, where he started as a plant metallurgist in Canada and worked his way up to V.P. group executive in the United States. He later worked for SKF Industries as V.P. group executive. The last 17 years of his career were spent as a venture capitalist with Safeguard Scientifics in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He retired on Dec. 31, 1998. His business acumen led him to serve as board chairman on multiple boards of directors.
The family owned a sailboat for 18 years and sailed around the Chesapeake Bay with family and friends. Chuck and Karen loved traveling and shared that passion with their family. Their goal was to create memories and adventures both here and around the world. Together, he and Karen traveled to over 100 countries, some many times over.
He was a talented photographer and loved skiing, fly fishing, dancing and enjoyed attending UNCW sporting events. He loved World Cup Soccer, championship golf at all the majors, and Formula 1 racing. Chuck wanted to do something special with each child and allowed them to pick one event of their choosing — The Masters in Augusta, Georgia (Kelly), Bone Fishing in Key West (Craig), World Cup of Hockey in Toronto (Chris), Olympics in England (Mary), Formula 1 in Montreal (Brian) and Stanley Cup in Boston (Matt).
A celebration of life will be scheduled when friends and family can be together again.
In lieu of flowers, he asked that donations be made to the Landfall Foundation in his memory.
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