Submitted
Charles Wise
Charles Wise—a longtime Killington resident, community leader, and beloved friend to many for over 50 years—died at his home in Killington, Vt., on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015.
Charlie was born in 1931 in New York City and spent his growing-up years in Bayside, Queens. He was a Korean War Veteran with four years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force. After meeting Joan, his wife-to-be, on the ski slopes, Charlie also fell in love with Killington and together they moved to the town in 1962.
During his years in Vermont, Charlie served in many civic leadership roles: Town Selectman, Town Meeting Moderator, and Rutland Regional Planning Commissioner. He also served as Chairman of: the Town Planning Commission, Woodstock Union High School Board, and the Study and Construction Committee for the present Killington Elementary School.
As a Killington resident, Charlie worked as a ski patrolman, an inn keeper, a schoolteacher in West Rutland, and a house builder. He later pursued a long career as a realtor, first at Martin Associates, where he became partner, and in 1976, he founded Wise & Co. Real Estate. He held leadership positions on many local and state Boards of Realtors, received Rutland County’s Realtor of the Year Award in 1989, and, throughout his career, exemplified ethical practices within the field.
He is survived by his wife, Joan, and his children, Christopher and Suzanne. A fuller account of Charlie will be published in the next edition of The Mountain Times.
The Celebration of Life for Charlie Wise will take place at the Sherburne United Church of Christ (the Little White Church in Killington, located at 4173 Route 4) on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, at 3 p.m. A reception will follow at the Summit Lodge in Killington at 4 p.m.
