Charles B. Hebler

Charlie was born in Baltimore, Maryland to John and Helen Hebler. He was one of three children, with an older brother, John Jr., and a younger sister, Dorothy. The highlight of his early education was Mt. St. Joseph High School and he was immensely proud of being a member of the 1947 graduating class, still attending alumni meetings into his 90’s. He earned his A.A. Degree from Essex Community College in 1973, becoming the first college graduate in the Hebler family, then continued on to earn his B.S. degree from Towson State University in 1975. Charlie’s career as a Systems Analyst — he started in the computer field when the world was using punch cards! — began at IBM and ended with the City of Baltimore. In between, he worked at Rheem Manufacturing, ARA (Automatic Retailers of America), Sinai Hospital, Morgan State University and the Maryland State Computer Information Center that serviced all MD State Colleges. The B&O Railroad was not only the company from which Charlie’s father retired, but also where Charlie began his career after high school. He started as a file clerk where he met another young file clerk named Ella Brown. Charlie and Ella married in June, 1950 and were devoted to each other for 47 years. They had two children, David and Mary Lynn, who they raised and supported with much love and pride. Sadly, Ella died in 1997 and Charlie lived independently in the house they bought and raised their family in until 2024 when he moved to Oak Crest Retirement Community. Charlie’s passions growing up as a Baltimore kid continued throughout his life. He always loved the Orioles, bowling (both duckpin and tenpin), listening to the radio, going to movies and shows (vaudeville when he was younger), and eating steamed crabs. He especially loved comedy and was a master at telling jokes. His love of movies and music led him to be a huge fan of movie musicals and earned him the right to call himself the #1 fan of the Sound of Music. Through the years, he also added golf to his favorite hobbies. Perhaps, though, the hobby he was most proud of, most enjoyed, and was most known for was his poetry. He named himself the Parkville Poet and wrote hundreds of poems throughout his life filling 5 overflowing binders. Not just any poetry, though — funny poetry — and everything was in perfect rhyme and tempo. His creativity and sense of humor was in full display through his poems. Anyone who knew him would be gifted with a folder of new poems every time he saw them. At Oak Crest, he would put a new poem outside his door every day. Often, he would take a silly news article and turn it into a poem. There was nary a topic missed in his very extensive collection. Charlie was a kind, honest, funny, creative guy with amazing life experiences spanning 96 years. To know him was to love him. He was preceded in death by his brother, John Hebler, Jr., his brother-in-law, Walter Cornell, and his loving wife, Ella Brown Hebler. He is survived by his sister, Dorothy Cornell, his son, David Hebler and fiancee, Janet Wattles, his daughter, Mary Lynn Devlin and son-in-law, Brian Devlin, and several nieces and nephews.

Charles B. Hebler

November 29, 1929 - April 29, 2026