Ethan McCoy with his grandfather, Charles “Charlie” Stitt, on the beaches of Normandy. Stitt took Ethan and another grandson, Paul Stitt, to Normandy so the young men could see where Allied troops invaded on D-Day during World War II. Submitted photo

Ed and Judy Wadding knew their friend, Charles “Charlie” Stitt, was heartbroken after the January 2021 death of his wife, Ruth, so they decided to take him out for dinner.

“He said, ‘No, I want you to come to my house and I’ll cook dinner for you,’” Judy Wadding recalled. “He had the table beautifully set and there was wine — that’s just the kind of guy he was, and it makes me cry.”

All who knew him emphasized the giving nature of Stitt, who died on March 1 at age 85.

“He was definitely God’s servant,” Wadding said.

Although he was in his 80s, Stitt drove people two decades younger than him to doctor’s appointments or visited others in the hospital.

“Then you’d try to do something for him and he’d say, ”Aw, that’s OK,’“ Wadding said.

She said her friend focused on being there for people who were at a low point in their lives, as well as making everyone he met feel valued.

“There’s no doubt in my mind where he is now,” she said of Stitt.

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