Charles E. Norquist Jr. 86, of 124 Aldren Ave., Jamestown, passed away at 10:15 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 24, 2012), in the Lutheran Home and Rehabilitation Center.
A lifelong area resident, he was born Nov. 25, 1925, in Jamestown, N.Y., a son of the late Charles E. and Mildred Venman Norquist, Sr.
He was a 1944 graduate of Jamestown High School and earned his bachelor's degree from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., in 1950. He also earned his master's degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
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Charles was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving during World War II, and was a recipient of the Purple Heart.
Before his retirement, he was the owner and operator of the former Music Box store on North Main Street for more than 30 years. In his early years, he had worked for the family busi-ness Norquist Products for several years.
He was a longtime member of the Christ First United Methodist Church, where he sang in the church choir and was a volunteer for the food bank at Christ First. He was also a member of the Ingjald Lodge 65 In-dependent Order of the Vikings and served as a board member for the American Scandinavian Heritage Foundation. He was an active volunteer for WCA Hospital and in the gift shop of Lutheran So-cial Services. He and his late wife Judy also volun-teered for the local Habitat for Humanity. For the past several years he enjoyed participating in the Luth-eran Home activities league playing darts and pool with fellow residents.
Charles was an accomplished pianist and musi-cian playing in the James-town Municipal Band for more than 30 years. He also played piano for various activities at the Rosch Center. He enjoyed attending concerts for the Jamestown Concert Association, the Jamestown Choral So-ciety and plays at the Little Theater of Jamestown.
Surviving are four daughters: Deborah (Chris) Furry of Pleasant City, Ohio, Sallie Norquist (Noel O'Flanagan) of Verona, N.J., Mary (Steve) Moynihan of Wexford, Pa., and Janet (David) Baglia of Grove City, Pa.; 11 grandchildren: Kristen Fur-ry of Cambridge, Ohio, Nathan (Emily) Furry of Milton, Fla., Alison Furry of Pleasant City, Ohio, Jake Filak of Verona, N.J., Emily (Mike) Gambetta of Prescott, Ariz., Meghan Moynihan of San Francisco, Calif., Molly Moy-nihan of Paris, France, Pa-trick Moynihan of Boulder, Colo., Janele Baglia, Kelly Baglia and Jenny Baglia, all of Grove City, Pa; and two great-grandchildren Madison and Lauren Furry.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years the former Judith A. Smith Nor-quist, whom he married June 23, 1951, and who died Oct. 28, 1997.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, in Christ First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Natalie Hanson, pastor will officiate. A private interment service will be in the Lake View Cemetery at a later date.
Friends will be received following the service in Darrah Hall of Christ First United Methodist Church.
Memorials may be made to the Christ First United Methodist Church, 1663 Lakeview Ave. Jamestown, NY 14701.
You may light a candle in remembrance of Charles at www.lindfuneralhome. com.