BARRE – Charles E. 'Charlie" Kaczor, 71, died on November 8, 2025 in UMass Medical Center with his wife and family by his side.
He leaves his wife of 45 years, Patricia A. “Pat” (Fehser) Kaczor; a brother-in-law, Charles W. Fehser and his wife Kathy of Milton; a sister-in-law, Marlene C. Gregory and her husband Dean of Webster; a niece, Jennifer Fehser and her husband Lawrence Unger, and a nephew, Benjamin Fehser and his wife Suzanne; many loving cousins, including the Antkowiak and Duszlak families; and his beloved rescue dogs Spree, Penny Ray and Callie.
He was born on February 20, 1954 in Worcester, a son of Lorraine (Duszlak) and Henry Rys. He was a 1972 graduate of St. Mary's High School and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Central New England College, both in Worcester.
Charlie first worked installing X-Ray equipment in hospitals in Boston. He worked for many years as a computer designer for Digital Equipment in Maynard and later with General Dynamics in Pittsfield. He developed several patents at Digital. Charles had other jobs at Leidos, Mercury Computer and Kollmorgen. After retirement, he worked as a consultant.
In his youth Charlie was an altar boy at Saint Andrew Bobola in Dudley. He played the clarinet and saxophone at many weddings with his band the 2+2. He was also a member of the Pulaski Brass Band. He enjoyed woodworking, building furniture for the house, including building the kitchen cabinets and making whirley-gigs for the yard. An avid weather scientist, he had a weather station on the barn and was part of the network that gathered information for the National Weather Service. He took sailing lessons on Narragansett Bay and had his own sailboat. He enjoyed fishing and spending time on Hayden Pond in Dudley.
Charlie enjoyed traveling with Pat – from Old Orchard Beach to exotic places incuding Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Egypt and Kenya. The greatest thrill was meeting Pope John Paul II in Rome.
His favorite hobby was raising and training rescue dogs. Charlie ran agility and earned many ribbons with his dogs. He appeared on the TV show “That’s My Dog” with his dog Sweetie Pie.
Pat and Charlie raise four sheep when they moved to Barre 25 years ago.
The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses in the E.R., ICU and room 403 for their compassionate care.
His funeral will be held on Monday, November 17, from the Sitkowski, Malboeuf & Hickey Funeral Home, 340 School Street, with a Mass at 11:00 in Saint Andrew Bobola Church, 54 West Main Street, Dudley. Burial will be held privately. Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 16, from 3:00 to 500 PM in the funeral home. Donations in his name may be made to the Second Chance Animal Shelter, 111 Young Rd, East Brookfield, MA 01515 or to Diocesan Shrine of Saint Andrew Bobola, 54 West Main Street, Dudley, MA 01571.