Obituary: Charles "Chuck" Huggins, top executive at See's Candies Other Topics, posted by Editor, The Almanac Online, on Aug 22, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Friends and relatives of Charles "Chuck" Newel Huggins, the noted philanthropist, president and chief executive of See's Candies, and resident of Menlo Park, say there will be a jazz concert "sometime in the near future" in his honor. Mr. Huggins died Aug. 19 surrounded by his family at his home in Larkspur. He was 87.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 11:49 AM
Posted by Elsie Floriani, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Aug 22, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Chuck Huggins was a true gentleman, beloved by all. I will miss his smiling face and ingratiating manner. He was an enormous contributor to our community on many levels, bringing joy into the lives of many.
Posted by John Straubel, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Aug 26, 2012 at 4:39 pm
As a former member of the Model A's jazz band, and a happy admirer of my friend Chuck, I know how he infected many of us with his loving spirit, always by showing, seldom advising.
But another side of Chuck's remains one of my fondest memories.
He so loved the comradeship of music that he and Tom Ford created their own jazz band because they didn't think any other band would accept their limited capabilities on drums and piano. Entrepreneurs, these two. They sweetened the Model A's ability to entertain by bringing in a few really good musicians, true, but invited me to join with my profoundly limited capability on, er, the gut bucket. No matter, because comradeship was what was important to Chuck and Tom, even as they rose in the business world from bottom to top.
The joy worked wonders: we played (not flawlessly) on cruise ships, at political and charity fund-raisers, cut our own album (since no one else would), and even did a one-nighter at the famed Bellair Hotel Lounge. At one big party gig, Arthur Fiedler (Boston Pops) asked if he could take a turn on my bucket. I near fainted.
Chuck-and-Tom enriched us with what later appeared to me in a verse by Bengali author Tagore: "The forest would be very sad if only the birds who sang best did."
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