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8 Bells... Charlie Proctor

Laura Jeffers | Published on 5/7/2020

It is with a heavy heart we share the news of Charlie Proctor's passing. On Tuesday, May 5th he was involved in a bicycle accident that took his life. Charlie was just 19 days shy of his 28th birthday. 

Charlie sailed a lot with his dad, Ched Proctor out of the CT/RI District and Cedar Point Yacht Club. Many in the Lightning Family have known him since he was born. He and his older brother Thomas.

It wasn't until the end of Charlie's college days when we started seeing him more frequently on Lightning race circuit. He didn't skipper that often, but was an accomplished sailor in his own right. In 2015 he won the CT Governors Cup at the helm.  He enjoyed sailing with his dad and they did very well winning many regattas. In 2018 they won the North American Championship in San Diego with fellow crew Meredith Killion. 

Charlie loved adventure, the outdoors and life.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his parents Ched and Judy, his brother Thomas, sister-in-law Sandra Voss and girlfriend Alison Piasecki. 


Tribute/article from WBZ Boston : WBZ Boston News
(also see bottom of page for full text)
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Message from the Proctor Family: 

Dear Friends

Thank you for being there for us. We are grateful for your support, and your condolences have meant so much to us. It is unimaginably painful to lose a beloved family member so long before his time. Knowing that we have such a loving and supportive community out there is strengthening for us in our grief. 

 

In Charlie’s memory, we have established the Charlie Proctor Memorial Fund with the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. MassBike works to improve the safety of roadways in the Boston area and across the state of Massachusetts. We are working closely with them to enact changes to the intersection where Charlie was killed, but unfortunately there are countless other dangerous intersections and roadways like this one. This fund will support work to improve the safety of roads and intersections around the state before someone else dies on them, and will work towards a future in which no other families need to suffer through the grief and terror that we have.

 

Because of the current pandemic situation, a traditional memorial where we would be able to see and connect directly with our community is not possible at this time. In lieu of that, we hope that you can contribute to this fund. Contributions can be made online at https://www.massbike.org/charlie_proctor_memorial_fund , or by mailing checks to MassBike, 50 Milk St, 16th Floor, Boston, MA 02109.

 

Thank you so much for your support and love,

 

Judy, Ched, and Tom Proctor



CT Gov Cup
2018 NA Champs Team Proctor


Photos Top Left: 2015 CT Governor's Cup Champions, Charlie Proctor, Duncan Swain and Liz Keys. Right: 2018 North American Champions, Ched Proctor, Meredith Killion and Charlie Proctor. 
Below: sailing bow #7 at the Coral Reef YC in Miami at the 2015 Midwinter Championship, Ched Proctor, Charlie Proctor and Scott Gise - First Place. 


Team Proctor Miami
Team Proctor Miami Awards


Team Proctor
 Proctor Fogged in at BCC
Team Proctor ACCs


Above Left: Team Proctor from the 2017 North American Championship at the Rochester YC (2nd Place). Middle: Judy & Ched Proctor, Meredith Killion and Charlie Proctor fogged in at the Lake Erie Districts at the Buffalo Canoe Club. Right, Team Proctor/Killion at the 2017 Atlantic Coast Championship at the Mallets Bay Boat Club in Burlington, VT 3rd Place.  Bottom Left: Team Proctor/Killion First Place at the Frigid Digit at the Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD. Right: Candid with Todd Wake, Dick Moyer, Ched and Charlie Proctor, Rochester, NY. 


Team Proctor Frigid Digit
Rochester NAs


Full Text from the New Piece: 
ARLINGTON (CBS) – On Tuesday night (May 5, 2020) around 6:30pm, 27-year-old Charlie Proctor of Somerville was out for a bike ride with his girlfriend, Alison. The couple was planning on moving in together on June 1.

Then, police say, a car traveling the opposite direction of the couple at the intersection of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington struck them, killing Charlie and leaving Alison with minor injuries. The crash happened just three weeks before Charlie’s 28th birthday.


“Hold your children tight,” Proctor’s mother Judith told WBZ. “COVID makes grieving with family, our friends and his friends impossible. But we will find ways to connect and share our love for this well adjusted, bright human that brought joy and love to all.”

The 20-year-old Cambridge man driving the car that hit Proctor stopped at the scene, police said. Police discovered a loaded shotgun in his trunk, which he had a license to carry. He was charged with possession of a loaded gun in a motor vehicle, but has not yet been charged in the crash, which is still under investigation.

Charlie Proctor’s family, friends, and coworkers say his most prominent quality was his love for adventure, and his desire to bring friends and family along with him wherever he went.

Proctor graduated from Tufts University in 2014, where he was a member of the sailing team. “I’m really torn up,” his former teammate Alec Ruiz-Ramon told WBZ. “He made a difference in my life and so many others.”

After graduating from Tufts, Proctor began working at Architectural Engineers, Inc. in Boston, a small company of only a few dozen employees. “He was a valued member of our team, and was recently licensed as a professional engineer, which was very important to him,” his coworker Robin Greenleaf wrote in a company statement. “We identified him early on for not only his engineering skills, but his leadership abilities. At a young professional point in his career, he was highly respected by his co-workers, colleagues, and clients. His loss is a huge blow to our company, where his future had no limits.”

Charlie Proctor’s brother Thomas sent WBZ this tribute to his brother’s life, which reads, in full:

Charlie was killed last night, just nineteen days before his twenty-eighth birthday. He was a kind, adventurous man who spread his joy and zest for life to everyone he knew.

Charlie loved the outdoors. Winters he could always be found in the mountains, backcountry skiing and ice climbing, and summers bicycling, climbing, and sailing. He spent his last birthday on mount Denali, climbing the Cassin ridge. Charlie loved sharing his passion with those he loved. He was always pushing us to push our own limits and exit our comfort zones. He was always encouraging, caring, and loving in his support. We have heard from countless friends of his telling of the adventures that he took them on that they never would have embarked on without his encouragement.

Charlie worked at Architectural Engineers, Inc. He had just achieved his Professional Engineer certification, and had worked on HVAC building designs on projects around the Boston area, including Logan airport the Tufts University library, and the Worcester tourist center.

Charlie was killed at the corner of Appleton Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, just ten minutes away from his home in Somerville. It is a busy, four way forked intersection. The only traffic control is four flashing yellow lights which did nothing to protect him as a driver turned left though the fork and hit him head on. We visited the scene of the crash this afternoon, where a resident told us that crashes at this intersection are a chronic problem.

The family hopes that effective traffic control can be installed at this intersection, so that no others need to suffer through the grief and terror that we have. He is survived by his parents, Ched and Judy Proctor, his brother Tom, sister-in law Sandra Voss, his girlfriend Alison Piasecki, and many cherished friends.



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