Charles Harter

December 16, 2020

Charles Harter “Charlie” was born on December 31, 1937 to Charles and Louise Harter in Dallas Texas. Charlie grew up in Houston and went to The Kinkaid School. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. After he graduated, Charlie became a Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve. On August 26, 1961 Charlie married Mary Hillyer in Tyler, Texas. They moved to Houston and had three children: Chuck Harter, Allison Harter Thompson and Ellie Harter Bale. The family spent most of their time in Houston and at their beloved beach house in Port O’Connor Texas. Charlie was a lifetime member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as well as a lifelong member of the River Oaks Country Club in Houston. He served on the board of directors of Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston for 12 years. Charlie was president of the Houston chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1972 and became President of C J Harter Machinery in 1974. C J Harter Machinery is the oldest member of the American Machine Tool Distributors Association where he served as National President in 1983-84. He was also a member of the Oriental Order of Groundhogs in Cincinnati. In 1977 he was a founding member of the Coastal Conservation Association and served as Texas president for 18 years. In 1999, he was appointed to the Sport Fishing and Boating Council of the Department of Interior in Washington and served as Director for a three-year term. Charlie received the Volunteer of the Decade award for the 1990s for CCA. Charlie worked closely with CCA for over 40 years. Charlie was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Mary Harter. He is survived by his children Chuck Harter; Allison Harter Thompson(John); Ellie Harter Bale(David) and grandchildren Jenna Harter, Taft Harter, Ellie Thompson, McCullough Thompson, Matthew Bale and Abby Bale. His positive attitude, kindness and honesty will be greatly missed.