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Leonard F. Charla Obituary

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Leonard F. Charla

Royal Oak, MI

May 4, 1940 - October 20, 2020

Leonard F. Charla Obituary

Len was born May 4, 1940 to Leonard A. Charla, a blacksmith, and Mary (Lorusso) Charla, a homemaker and school secretary. He grew up in the close-knit Italian-American community in New Rochelle, NY with more than 20 first cousins, whom he stayed in touch with his whole life. He was particularly close to his uncle, John Charla. Highlights of his childhood that he talked about for many years were his first memories: being in Times Square on VE day at the end of World War II, and winning the first TV in the neighborhood in a raffle. His passion for cars (and trains) was legendary. He entered car design competitions as a kid, drew and doodled cars his entire life – up to the morning of his severe stroke in 2016 – and he could instantly name the model year, trim style and chassis details of any American car he saw made between 1920 and 2015 (also probably the factory location and industry gossip about the model). His knowledge of cars was possibly only exceeded by his knowledge of obscure auto and train museums, and he loved nothing more than a long driving detour to an out-of-the-way museum where he could spend as much time as he wanted (be it hours or minutes) looking at the cars and critiquing the museum’s curation, before finding a copy of Hemmings Motor News to read and a bakery or coffee shop to read it at. Len’s passion for cars was restricted to production cars – while he loved the Avanti (and anything Packard related – especially pointing out the location of old Packard dealerships around the country), he was not particularly interested in souped-up cars, racing or sports cars. Len attended local parochial schools and graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School before being awarded academic merit scholarships to both Iona College in New Rochelle, and then The Catholic University's Columbia School of Law in Washington DC for his JD. Len was the first in his family to attend college. He achieved the LLM in Administrative Law from the George Washington University. He also studied and lived briefly in Pittsburg, a period about which he could retell stories that would have him and anyone he was telling roaring with laugher, despite how many times they might have heard them. In DC he met and married his first wife Kathleen (Gerace) Charla, with whom he remained close after their divorce. After a short time in New Jersey working as a transportation lawyer, Len moved with Kathy and their daughter Larisa to Detroit in 1971 to take a position on the Legal Staff at General Motors (son Chris was born soon afterward). In Michigan, Len also pursued his other great passion, art. An avid collector and gallery goer, as well as an artist himself, he combined his profession and love for art and taught night classes on “Law for the Artist” for many years at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Len was an early supporter of the burgeoning Michigan arts scene. He quietly provided pro bono services to many Michigan artists, and volunteered on many arts committees and boards, including the Michigan Bar Association’s Arts Communication Entertainment and Sports Section (ACES), which awarded him the John Hensel Award for legal services to the arts community. Besides the close relationships he built at GM, Len made many friends around the country over years-long Superfund site cleanup projects. After 18 years at GM, he spent two years back in DC as general counsel at CleanSites, a nonprofit, before returning to Detroit to join Butzel Long as a shareholder, focused on environmental law. There he met Liz DuMouchelle, and the second half of his life really began with their marriage in 1993. They loved going to France and elsewhere in Europe, hosting “open that bottle” nights with friends, and driving as far west as they could on June 21 to make the year's longest day last as long as possible. They held an epic annual party just before Thanksgiving. The parties had wonderfully eclectic guest lists drawn from Liz and Len’s many circles – artists, lawyers, neighbors, writers, and family – and were a great way to kick off the holiday season. With diverse and complementary interests, Len and Liz fit together fantastically as a couple, and a dinner party or holiday at their house was always a fun time. Len loved to make friends, and whether it was his students, artists, his realtor, one of the many folks with whom he invested in rental properties after his retirement, or waiters and waitresses in far-flung diners across Michigan, he was always excited to meet new people – and to introduce them to his grandchildren, Gabrielle and Oliver Breton and Oscar Charla, whom he spent time with whenever he could. He took immense pleasure in running an errand, grabbing a cup of coffee and a sweet roll, and catching up with people everywhere he went. A frequent conversation topic was his independent publishing business, Countinghouse Press, which he built to publish his own cookbook, and then books from others. His humor, ranging from dry to corny, was always present in his conversations, and while his 2016 stroke robbed him of mobility, it did not lessen his sense of humor at all – to the delight of his family and caregivers. Len was courageous in the four years he survived after a catastrophic stroke and continued to enjoy get-togethers with friends. We can't speak of Len's many friendships without speaking of his great heart for the people he cared about. When Len made a friend, it was usually for life. Len went the extra mile for people. Most importantly, Len did not shy away from difficult circumstances and stepped in, sometimes, at a friend's most dire hour. He was also incredibly supportive, whether through community involvement in arts and community councils, or supporting his kids and grandkids in their endeavors, and he was justifiably proud of their accomplishments. When his kids were in high school Len made sure his was the “hang-out house,” and he welcomed all their friends, frequently leading late runs to White Castle before they could drive. A true intellectual, he had a passion for reading and learning and was as happy discussing word origins and English grammar as he was cars, railroad rights-of-way or the intricacies of four-color process printing. He had incredible depth and breadth of knowledge and was an eager listener, too. There are so many great stories about Len – far too many to fit here – and we hope to share more in 2021 when we can have a proper celebration of his life. In the meantime we have laid Len to rest after a small private ceremony. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be sent in Len’s name to Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. Len is survived by his wife, Liz DuMouchelle, his daughter Larisa Breton, his son and daughter-in-law Chris Charla and Carrie Shepherd, his grandchildren, his brother Stephen Charla Sr., and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Gerard Charla and his sister, Judy Ciarla. He joins his passed-on family and great friends Bill Isbey Sr., Carl Proffer, Joe Chu, Joe Wesner, Roger Ulrich and Charlie Flynn.

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Events

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