Charlie Campbell Tribiute


 

It has been a whirlwind few days. One  father's friends from high school passed away a few days ago. They have kept in touch over the years. Charlie moved around a lot during his eighty plus year his roots remained n Allendale, NJ! He and his wife Bev were a fixture a t DeeDee and Anth ony's Fourth of July Parties. I   know their kids,John and Annie.Charlie also had to sons from a previous marriage and it was recently discovered he has Charlie, his wife Bev and John and Annie, moved around a lot from Connecticut to Minnesota before finally  settling in Murrells Inlet SC, founding t he Dead Dog Saloon, and later theso fixture on the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk which is why  father gravitated to the place for a second home. Ironically Charlie and Bev brought a house in Cape May which meant I spent some more time with him!

 I've known Charlie my whole life. Charlie , like my real uncles, Charle (Chuck) and Matt, called me "Jaybird" a riff of my mom's nickname for me  We have had many discussions, about sports, music, history and yes politics. Ok so we argued about politics more than we discussed, but we never walked away bitter. Charlie loved Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen even more than I love Billy Joel. We ll he had decades more time to appreciate them. He recited their lyrics as if he wrote them himself. He would also provide a history lesson about his favorite Dylan and  Springsteen songs. You can not describe Charlie as "a fan", He deeply  respected these two poets and you couldn't end a conversation with Charlie without talking about them.

The service part of the memorial touched me, the tributes p[oured in, Bobby Fader, the owner of the famous Blue Moon Bar of Corgie Street, has known Charlie the best gave an emotional tribute to his best friend. When the service was over we went back to our house to change. After a little while we made our way over to the Dead Dog Saloon, the bar Charlie built, and rebuilt. They had a couple of bands play in Charlie's memory, his grandson Jack was especially touching. Charlie's son John thanked everyone for coming. It was hot and we were all getting tired. Right before we left the Dead Dog Saloon, I pulled out my  trusty iPhone and managed to compose something, but the ceremony ended. I wanted to share it with you

My name is Justin Mattes my dad Peter has known Charlie, Anthony, Bobby and the crew for over sixty years! They laughed, argued and cried together. I consider it one of my best  gifts in my life was to witness just a fraction of what they have been through together. These men are brothers not by blood but by choice.  Love you Charlie



Charlie Campbell Obituary

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