The
Life and Times of Charles Serr
by Carol Serr, daughter Jan. 2006
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Charles was the fourth child of seven born on July 12, 1918, to Emil
Bernard and Sadie Eldora (Grabinski) Serr in the small town of Kennebec,
South Dakota. Always enterprising, he built bird houses, caught and sold
catfish, and caddied at the 9-hole golf course to earn money for the
family especially after his dad died in 1931. He spent the summer before
his junior year hopping trains and living as a hobo,* then graduated
from Kennebec High School in 1936. Shortly afterward he worked three
days carving on the face of President Lincoln, creating the world famous
Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota (but quit because it was too dangerous [he got hit on the head by falling rock - woke up in the hospital!]). He spent one year in the Civilian Conservation Corps at Camp 792 at Roubaix in the Black Hills. |
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Wanting to be a pilot after being impressed by barnstormers who came through town in the 1920s, Charles went to Omaha, Nebraska and enlisted in the Navy on September 20, 1938. After boot camp at Great Lakes Training Station, Illinois, he was sent to Long Beach, CA where he went aboard the battleship USS Pennsylvania, December 1938.His battle station was Mount 1, a 3-inch, 50 caliber anti-aircraft gun, the day Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. In 1942, he was stationed in the South Pacific on Efaté island in the New Hebrides. While on an anti-submarine patrol mission in 1943, as a rear seat gunner, the plane (OS2U Kingfisher) was shot down in the ocean; being an excellent swimmer helped Charles dive to save the unconscious pilot's life. Charles didn't even know his left knee was badly injured until after he was rescued; he was sent to an Army Hospital in Aukland, New Zealand - then transferred to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, CA. |
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Finally, in late 1943 he got orders to go to flight training and eventually earned his wings in Pensacola FL - was sent to Alameda, CA and then, unexpectedly, he was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Antietam where he served until leaving active duty on Dec. 7, 1946. His mother and sister Connie had moved to San Diego in 1941, and the rest of his siblings had moved to the area, so Charles settled here too. By 1946, many of the family members lived in Spring Valley near Sadie's property on the corner of Lamar St. and Bancroft Dr. |
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In April of 1946, while visiting his sister Mabel in Lancaster, CA, he
met the "girl of his dreams," Mary Garde. That same year, he started an
equipment rental business at his mother's lot with his brother Jim -
called Jim's-U-Rent - and ran it until 1955 (selling it to his younger
brother Bob). He then became a salesman for Brown & Bigelow (calendar
advertising) followed by a few years selling real estate.
On July 24, 1948, he married Mary in Lancaster and they hauled a 24-foot trailer down to set up at Sadie's (Mary sure didn't marry him for his car or money). In 1951, about to have their first child, Charles and Mary moved into a new home in the Brookside area of Spring Valley. Susan was born in July of that year, followed by Jon in 1953 and Carol in 1956. |
| "Honeymoon"photo taken at Knott's Berry Farm. | |
In 1958,
Charles started an ornamental iron works business - called Dakota Iron Works.
However, a serious work accident in 1962 left his arm in a cast for 11˝ months.
So he sold the business and went to San Diego State College (now SDSU) where he
received a Bachelors degree in 1966 (Industrial Arts), and a Masters degree in
1971. In 1972, the family moved across the freeway into La Mesa. Charles taught
Crafts and Photography at Helix High School until retiring in 1983. He also
taught jewelry-making courses at Grossmont College in the evenings and native
crafts for three summers at the Viejas Indian Reservation in Alpine. In 1989, he
had heart surgery, replacing his aortic valve with a pig valve, which he
jokingly would say gave him the urge to roll in mud puddles.
Susan majored in German at SDSU and taught one year at Mt. Carmel High School,
but unfortunately was killed in a car accident in July 1980. Jon lived in
Mammoth Lakes, CA for 20 years before moving to Tonopah, NV in 1998, where he
now lives with his wife Judi. Carol majored in Anthropology at SDSU and has
worked as an archaeologist in San Diego County for over 25 years, and lives near
Mary.
Charles enjoyed his "golden years" carving wooden canes (making at least 235)
and also traveling with Mary to many interesting places; he loved making
scrapbooks of their trips. He was a member of the local Carnation Chapter of the
Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and he and Mary attended many reunions of
this organization, as well as the 6th Division of the USS
Pennsylvania and gatherings for the entire ship. He gave presentations of
his experience at the attack on Pearl Harbor to various civic groups, as well as
high school students as part of their Oral History Program.
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He will always be remembered for his love of telling stories and jokes. And also by many local folks for bringing thrills and delight to them as children at the elementary school Halloween carnival (early 1960s) - where he wildly drove his "funny car" 'Smokey Joe' (a Navy surplus bomb tender truck) around the playground in the dark, lurching and swerving all over. |
One of Charles' favorite jokes he told waitresses, nurses and just about everyone:
Did you know Strawberries can talk? The other day I heard one say , "Ya know, if we hadn't been in bed together, we wouldn't be in this jam right now."
A Service in Celebration of Life For
Charles T. Serr
July 12, 1918 - July 15, 2005
Charles' ashes were scattered at sea by the United States Navy
* hobos did odd jobs to earn their keep; unlike tramps who stole or bums who begged.