Charles Lawrence Weschler
On Monday, December 26, 2011, Charles Lawrence Weschler; Larry was born on July 14, 1917 in New York City to Samuel and Anna Weschler. Larry, one of three children (Eleanor and William), grew up in Flushing, where he was an Eagle Scout, and graduated from New York University with a degree in business.
In 1942, Larry enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army’s 77th Statue of Liberty Brigade, where he was stationed in Japan, the Phillipines, and several other Pacific Islands. He earned a Bronze Star for his heroic efforts delivering munitions and other supplies to the front lines in Leyte Gulf. Twenty years later, Larry retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Following World War II, Larry moved to Pittsburgh, where he began his career in Kauffman’s executive training program and met wife Ruth (Schwartz). They married in 1947, and eight years later, pooled their savings to open Charles Lawrence Casuals, a women’s clothing store in the Jenkins Aracde at the corner of Fifth and Penn Avenues. They worked there together for almost 30 years, closing the store in 1983.
In retirement, Larry became a lifetime trustee of the brotherhood and a member of the executive board of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, where he belonged for over 50 years. He used his decades of retail experience to reinvigorate and run Temple Sinai’s Jewish food festival for several years in the mid 1980s and early 1990s. Larry would spend months working with local vendors and synagogue volunteers, running it as if it were a business. The food festival became a major fundraiser for Temple Sinai and a signature community event.
Larry was also an avid horseman, enjoying regular outings to The Meadows where owned several successful trotters and pacers.
Larry is survived by two children and five grandchildren: Janice Dash (Dr. Marvin Dashson), Eric and Michelle; Barbara Weschler, (Stanley Levine), Aubra (Justin Garland) and Heather (Nathan Ajiashvili), and Adam. Beloved wife Ruth passed away in 2006. Iinterment at Temple Sinai Memorial Park. The family request any donations be made to Temple Sinai,
5505 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217-1199, or to Forbes Hospice, 4800 Friendship Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224.
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