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Havenbrook Funeral Home
3401 Havenbrook Street
Norman, OK 73072
(permission granted)
Charlie Schindler
December 27, 1924 - December 2, 2011
Charles (Charlie) was born, December 27, 1924, to Edward and Ester Schindler in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from high school in 1942 and joined the Army Air Corps in early 1943. At the age of 21, he was flying B29s. At the conclusion of World War II, he enrolled in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Charlie was immediately recalled to active duty in the United States Air Force and assigned as a research scientist in the Atomic Warfare Branch of the Air Force Cambridge Research Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1953 he was detached to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and served as the Assistant Director of the Armed Forces Weapons programs at Camp Mercury, Nevada. Charlie was assigned to the Air Force Institute of Technology with a duty station as a graduate student at the University of Texas. It was here that he met and later married his wife of over 50 years, Barbara Francois. Their first military assignment together was at the Aeromedical Field Laboratory at Alamagordo, New Mexico. Charlie was then assigned as an Air Force Exchange Officer at the Army Biological Warfare Laboratory at Ft. Detrick, MD. At the conclusion of his three year assignment with the Army, he was chosen as the Charles E. Lewis Fellow and was assigned by the Air Force to the University of Texas to continue with his graduate studies. It was here that he discovered and purified, Lysostaphin and has been awarded over 20 US and foreign patents on the substance.
Upon receiving his doctorate, the Secretary of the Air Force directed that he remain at the University an additional two years to continue his research. He was then transferred by the Air Force Surgeon General to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) in Washington, DC for research and teaching. After five years in Washington, with the Vietnam War heating up, he was transferred to the Air Force Armament Laboratory at Eglin AFB, Fl, where he was program manager for a number of chemical and biological warfare defense system programs.
In 1968, he asked to be retired from the Air Force so that he could enter the teaching profession. He taught Microbiology at the University of Oklahoma. In addition, he was he was a consultant to Mead Johnson Research Center from 1964 to 1974 . Because of his interest in public school education, he obtained his teaching certificate and taught at Irving Middle School and Norman High School. After 12 years, he again retired. In 1991, he was asked to take the position of Science Supervisor for the Oklahoma City Schools and held the position for two years.
His biography appears in Men of Science, Who's Who in the Southwest, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in America, American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in the World, and 2000 Scientists in the 20th Century. His unclassified research notes and some of publications are archived at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History in Austin.
Charlie was interested in local politics and served three terms as a City Council member in Norman. During his terms in office the fire station in Brookhaven was built, Norman Regional Hospital was expanded, Municipal Building was built, the EMS ambulance service was purchased, and the Sooner Theater was acquired.
Charlie is survived by his wife, Barbara , his daughters and their husbands, Marian and Chris Giffin, Susan and David Bryant, and his son and his wife, Neal Schindler and Shayna Kutt; three granddaughters, Sarah and Amy Giffin; and Harper Schindler.
Charlie spent the last two weeks of his life at his home under the care of Heartland Hospice.
Memorial services will be held 10:00 a.m., Thursday, December 8, 2011 in the Chapel of the Havenbrook Funeral Home, 3401 Havenbrook St., Norman.
Burial will be at the Ft. Sill National Cemetery, Elgin, Oklahoma.
Charlie loved animals and therefore wishes that memorial contributions be made to Second Chance, 4500 24th Ave. NW, Norman, OK 73069 or any other animal welfare organization of your choice.
Arrangements for Charlie and his family were placed in the care of the Vice Family at Havenbrook Funeral Home of Norman. Online condolences may be shared at www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com.
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