Charles L. Schelberg

Charles L. Schelberg, a World War II veteran who retired to his family home on the Eastern Shore after a successful banking career in Annapolis, died June 19 of complications of pneumonia at Gilchrist Center in Towson. He was 86. Born May 25, 1925 in Wilmington, Delaware, his parents were Charles L. Schelberg Sr. and Idylette B. Schelberg. He spent most of his childhood in Towson, Maryland and graduated from Towson High School in 1942. After one year of college, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943. He served on board the USS Abercrombie, a destroyer escort, in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945. The primary mission of the Abercrombie was to guard larger ships against air and submarine attack. A seaman, he was a member of an antiaircraft gun crew and also performed damage control duties. As a crewman of the Abercrombie, he fought against the Japanese at the battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, and during the Okinawa naval campaign of April-June 1945. He rarely spoke about his wartime experiences except when questioned about it by his grandchildren. During the fighting in the waters off Okinawa, the Abercrombie performed picket duty to spot and shoot down Japanese kamikaze planes flying suicide missions against U.S. aircraft carriers. Charles recounted that during one attack, a Japanese plane flew so low over the ship that from his gun station, he was able to look into the cockpit and clearly see the face of the Japanese pilot. After his discharge from the Navy in 1946, he returned to Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland on the G.I. Bill, and graduated in 1949. He married his wife of 59 years, Jane H. Booker, in 1952. He came from a family of Eastern Shore watermen. During summers after the war, he worked on the family fishing boat, hauling seine nets and taking the catches to market in Baltimore. These fishing expeditions would frequently involve week long trips on the Chesapeake Bay. He began his banking career in 1950 when he became cashier of Queenstown Bank of Maryland. He joined Farmers National Bank in Annapolis in 1959. He became president and chief executive officer in the early 1970s. He led the transformation of Farmers National Bank from a small local institution to a greatly expanded bank holding company with three bank subsidiaries and offices throughout Anne Arundel County and the Eastern Shore. His core banking principles were customer service, support of local businesses and entrepreneurs, and promotion of diversity in hiring and promotion. During his tenure as chairman of the board, Farmers National Bank was recognized in 1992 by Better Retirement Report as one of the strongest banks in the U.S. for depositors. Charles was featured in a two-page article in the magazine Newsweek in 2007. The article compared the G.I. Bill benefits that funded his college education against those available to his grandson Matthew Schelberg, a Marine combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He was involved in many civic organizations in the Annapolis area including service as treasurer and director of Anne Arundel General Hospital, president of the Annapolis Kiwanis Club and the Annapolitan Club, and director and treasurer of the Annapolis Yacht Club. He also served as a director of the Anne Arundel Agency for Assisted Living and Anne Arundel United Way. An enthusiastic card player, he enjoyed games of bridge, poker, and gin rummy at the Annapolitan Club and with groups of friends. Other hobbies included gardening and crabbing. He was an avid reader of newspapers, usually reading three a day. A memorial service will be held at St. Luke’s Chapel in Queenstown on June 30 at 11:00 a.m. He is survived by his wife and his four children, Charles B. Schelberg, Meredith S. Boyle, Kathryn S. Townshend and Blanche S. Niederberger. He is also survived by nine grandchildren, Matthew L. Schelberg, James H. Schelberg, Nicholas D. Schelberg, Peter C.P. Boyle, Caroline E. Boyle, Alix Townshend, Charles N. Townshend, Jane K. Townshend and Kathryn M. Diseroad. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army.

Charles L. Schelberg

May 25, 1925 - June 19, 2011