Herbert "Charlie" Hedges helped the United States set foot on the moon with his role in building the Lunar Excursion Module. He was known to be a gentleman, a family man, a great father, a mentor and a kind-hearted, patient and humorous human being.
Charlie's life began in Hardin, Montana, on May 2, 1923 born to Herbert William and Margaret MacArthur Hedges, who had come to America from England and Scotland to homestead. In 1929, they moved to Rocky Point Estate in Laurel Hollow. He spent his summers sailing, winters playing hockey with friends on St. John's Lake and was an altar boy at St. John's Church.
He attended West Side School in Cold Spring Harbor and met his future wife, the late Maria Holm, in Laurel Hollow. By 1943, the couple married and had five children. They lived in Cold Spring Harbor, and were happily married for 59 years; Maria died in 2002.
Charlie joined the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, serving from 1943-1945. His assignments took him across the East Coast as an instructor in ground camouflage, sabotage and the deployment of bridging systems.
After the war Charlie earned a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Hofstra University. He then returned to Grumman in Bethpage NY to complete a 45-year career during which he improved designs for the F4F, the Grumman Goose and many Navy fighters.
His proudest technological accomplishments came when he was named a manager of production engineering for the Lunar Excursion Module program. He started work on the LEM the first day Grumman won the contract, and he stayed until the program ended in 1972. During that time six manned LEM's successfully landed on the moon, while the seventh played an indispensable role in saving the lives of the Apollo 13 crew. While there Charlie worked closely with the members of every LEM crew to improve build quality and solve design issues. "The LEM eventually became the most reliable component of the entire Apollo/Saturn Program, and the only component never to suffer a failure that significantly affected a mission." For his contributions he received the Apollo Achievement Award from NASA. And Col. James Irwin, Commander of Apollo LEM 15, sent Charlie a personal letter of appreciation for his dedication and professionalism.
Charlie retired from Grumman in 1990 and died June 15, 2016 at home in Leesburg, Virginia. He was 93.
"He was a very humble man who also did a lot for our country," his daughter Barbara said. "We're very proud of him for that."
This tribute to a remarkable, modest and classic gentleman was placed here by his family.
KEN, TAYLOR AND SPENCER
SUSANNE & DICK,
RICHARD, MARGARET, CHARLES, ROSE, JOSEPH AND PHILOMENA
BEN, JOY AND HENRY
ELIZABETH, MARK, PAYTON AND LAUREN
BARBARA, JOHN AND GARRETT
DONNA, GABRIEL AND ALLEANDRO
CRAIG, KERRY, CAMERON, DAMARIS AND MALLORY