(photo credit: Matt Kosic)
Charles R. “Chuck” Hitchcock, of Prairie Village, Kansas, passed away Feb. 14 at the age of 88. A celebration of his life will be at 2 p.m. March 7 at Village Presbyterian Church.
Born April 23, 1937, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Chalmers and Geraldine Hitchcock, Chuck attended Roesland Grade School. As a young teen, Chuck worked for his father at Hitch’s Garage, on Southwest Boulevard, where he learned to drive in the shop tow truck. He graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, playing football and basketball and earning his private pilot’s license at age 16. He attended the universities of Colorado and Kansas, graduating as a Jayhawk in 1960 with a degree in business. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and a lifelong Jayhawks fan.
Chuck spent 30 years in commercial insurance with Thomas McGee and Sons in Kansas City, joining the partnership in 1968. He attended Dale Carnegie Training programs and taught Dale Carnegie classes for more than 25 years. He later served as general manager for the National Lubricating Grease Institute, an industry professional organization.
As an active member of the Village Church, Chuck served as a Stephen Minister, chaired two pastoral search committees, and was an Elder Trustee.
Anyone who knew Chuck knew his passion was model railroading. Chuck loved trains, mowing lawns to buy his first beloved Lionel models as a youngster. He became a gifted modeler and layout builder, whose work was well-known across the country among those in “the hobby.” He loved the Santa Fe Railway more than any other. Chuck was preceded in death by his parents, and by his daughter Sarah Susan Hitchcock. He is survived by wife Jennifer, son Douglas Hitchcock and wife Sonja, daughter Megan Hitchcock Smith and husband Ron; sister Judi Chubb; grandchildren Sam and Jana Hitchcock, Mia Knowles, Amber Bedrosian and husband Justin, and Jordan Smith and wife Morel, and great grandchildren Elizabeth Bedrosian, Bentley Bedrosian, and River Smith and several several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts to the Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208.
