Charles Edward Ardinger passed away on January 3, 2023, at the age of 80, after a brief hospital stay at Gundersen Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Charles was born on July 7, 1942 to Ralph and Clara Ardinger in Norfolk, Virginia. He graduated from Spring Grove High School in 1960. After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy. On July 2, 1965, he married Georginia Leader in San Francisco, California. His various duty stations included Recruit Training, Great Lakes, Illinois; Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Orange, Texas; USS Mattaponi A0 41, San Francisco; CHB Subic Bay, PI, Danang, Vietnam; USS Graffias AF 29, San Francisco; USS Catskill MCS-1, Long Beach; River Assault Squadron 15, Boat Captain of Tango 151-11, Mekong Delta, Vietnam; U.S. Naval Training Center, Hancock, Michigan; U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and Correctional Center, Corpus Christi, Texas. After his 22 ½ years of service, he retired from the U.S. Navy in June 1980. He returned to the Mabel area and bought and remodeled his grandmother’s house in Hesper.
He was a member of the American Legion Color Guard and Memorial Detail. He had worked for Jimmy Brown’s Tree Service and Ardell Peterson. He also he maintained the Hesper Lutheran Cemetery and overseen the Veterans headstones, and loved riding in his golf cart visiting his Hesper neighborhood, and friends. I know I will miss him doing the cooking, washing the clothes, filling the coffee pot with water, shopping for groceries, opening the mail, and wrapping packages to send to just mention a few things.
He was a member of the Hesper Lutheran Church; life member of the American Legion, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Mobile Riverine Force Association, VFW, and VVA; and a member of the Fleet Reserve Association, USS Graffias, USS Mattaponi, and Guantanamo Bay Association. He was past Commander of the American Legion Post 299 and the VFW Post 5769 in Mabel and past Treasurer and Membership Chairman of the Mobile Riverine Force Association.
Charles is survived by his wife Georginia, son Charles Ardinger, Jr. (Teresa), cousin Rita Anderson, nephews Doug (Kristy), Brian, and Greg, and other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Ralph and Clara, grandparents Julius and Hilda Selness and Nellie Ardinger, and his brother and sister-in-law, Ralph and Ingrid Ardinger, and father and mother-in-law Russell and Belle Leader.
Fair winds and following seas.
Funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Friday, January 13, 2023 at the Hesper Lutheran Church in Hesper, Iowa, with Pastor Dave Werges officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, January 12th at the Hesper Luther Church in Hesper and one hour prior to services at the Church. Burial with military honors will be in the Hesper Lutheran Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please give memorials to the Mabel American Legion Post 299, shake a Veteran’s hand or tell a Vietnam Vet “Welcome Home.”
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