Charles Ludwig Svihla, 92, passed away peacefully at 2:48 AM on March 5, 2016, at his home in Terre Haute, Ind. His health had been declining since November 2015, but he remained mentally sharp right up to the end, recalling many incidents from his childhood in great detail. He was born on January 13, 1924, in Haddon Township, N.J., to Albert Svihla, Jr., and Myrtle Adair Long Svihla. He married Frances Imogene Detrick on May 29, 1953, at Mitchel Air Force Base on Long Island, N.Y. He is survived by his wife, Frances, Terre Haute; children Randall (Lusine) Svihla, Alexandria, Va., Doreen Svihla-Jones, Houston, Tex., William (Terri) Svihla, West Terre Haute, Ind., and Charles Kurt (Sonja) Svihla, Pittsburgh, Pa.; grandchildren Ryan (Rita), Robert, Michael, Aisha, Connor, and Charlize Svihla, Brooke (Michael) Solis, and Carrie, Jon (Mandy Blue), and Lindsey (Jaime Segura Gonzalez) Jones; great-grandchildren Brockton, Benjamin, and Conner Jones, Manuel, Mariah, Jaime, and Antonio Segura Gonzalez, Owen and Sadie Solis, and James Svihla; sisters-in-law Mary Wright, JoAnn Mackie, Elizabeth Svihla, Mary Svihla Zioance, and Barbara Svihla; brother-in-law Thomas Baker; and eighteen nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; son-in-law Benjamin Jones; grandsons Jayden and Caden Svihla; great-granddaughter Ruth Svihla; sisters Myrtle McElvarr Baker and Adele Mahoney; brothers Albert III, William, Walter, and Samuel Svihla; brothers-in-law James McElvarr and William Mahoney; and seven nieces and nephews. He attended Audubon High School and Camden County Vocational School in New Jersey. He left school to join the United States Army in January 1943, went through basic training at Camp Claiborne, La., attended Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, Ill., and was assigned to the 964 Engineer Maintenance Company stationed at Cardiff, Wales. In December 1944 he was attached to Company I, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Rainbow Division, and entered combat near Strasbourg, France, on Christmas Eve 1944. He fought his way across Germany, participated in the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau, and ended his European service in Vienna, Austria, as part of the Allied forces occupying that city. He started working in the TV service industry in New York City in the 1940s after he returned from the war. During that time, he built two TVs from scratch from his own design for his mother and sister Adele. In 1951, RCA Service Company sent him to Indianapolis, and then to Terre Haute the following year, where he spent the remainder of his life. From 1958 to 1960 he operated his own TV service business, Svihla Electronics, where he was so skillful at fixing TVs that former customers continued to call him for years after he closed his business. He worked as an electrician for Wheaton Glass from 1960 to 1962, for Tumpane from 1962 to 1965, and for Pillsbury from 1965 until his retirement in 1984. While at Pillsbury, he diagnosed and solved several intransigent problems with complex palletizing machinery that had confounded teams of experts sent from Germany. He loved to travel, and took his family on two epic road trips to California in 1971 and 1972. In later years he loved spending time with his grandchildren, who are fortunate to have many fond memories of time spent with him. He had many hobbies and interests, and never lost his interest in learning new things. He taught himself to use computers when he was in his 60s, and used them right up until his health started to decline last year. He never met a problem he couldn’t solve, or a broken thing he couldn’t fix, or a thing he couldn’t build. He was a craftsman of the highest order, as was his father before him, and his father before that. He taught his children that a thing worth doing is a thing worth doing right, a valuable lesson that has served them well in their lives. He will be greatly missed by his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other relatives, and friends. Although a bright light has went out of their lives, they will be sustained by the loving memories of him over the many years they were fortunate to have him. He will never be forgotten by those who knew him. Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00 AM on Thursday, March 10, 2016, at Barbour Avenue United Methodist Church, 1401 Barbour Avenue, Terre Haute. Pastor Bob Roush will officiate. Visitation will be at the church from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, March 9 and from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Thursday, March 10. Interment will be in Roselawn Memorial Park, 7500 North Clinton Street, Terre Haute.
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Charles Svihla
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