Chuck Tishgart

ALS is a death sentence with an average life span of 2-5 years following diagnosis.

Thank you for celebrating the memory of Chuck Tishgart - who defied the odds and lived 25+ years upon diagnosis of this cruel disease - through a donation to the ALS Association.

With love and gratitude,

The Tishgart Family

Obituary:

Charles “Chuck” Tishgart died peacefully in his sleep -- surrounded by loved ones -- on April 15, 2024, following an extended battle with just about everything. He lived an incredible life full of love, adventure, generosity, and laughter. Chuck was born in Philadelphia, PA on January 18, 1943 to Edward and Rae Tishgart. His childhood wasn’t easy. He didn’t talk about it much. But he always looked up to his older sister, Lynda, whom he would eventually follow all the way to Miami.

Chuck graduated from Central High School in its 214th Class. His hobbies, according to the school yearbook, “vary from tropical fish to girls, but he is chiefly interested in collecting coins and serving as Vice-President of the Stamp and Coin Club.” But it wasn’t all math and adhesives. He also loved to play baseball and watch sports, especially the Eagles and their hall-of-fame QB, Fran Tarkenton.

After graduation, Chuck enlisted in the Army and was stationed as an Intelligence officer in Honolulu. He enrolled at the University of Hawaii (Fight on, Rainbows!), where he studied accounting and taught math as one does in the surf capital of the world. He remembers being on the shooting range when he heard the news that JFK was shot. Better than being on the grassy knoll.

With his sister, Lynda, and her family now in Miami, Chuck traded one beach for another and headed northeast to the Sunshine State. While pursuing a Master’s in Business and teaching finance at the University of Miami, Chuck met the love of his life – Accounting – as well as his wife of 54 years, Esta, the “mud angel.” After a four-month courtship and countless discussions about the flood plains in Florence, they were married.

Chuck and Esta lived a storybook life, spending time with close friends, romantic dinners, trips to the Bahamas, and all the love and affection two people could heap on an oversized Yorkshire Terrier. That all changed – for Chauncey anyway – in 1971 when Barry was born, followed a few years later by David (1974) and Jeff (1975). The family lived on a small “lake” in South Miami, where Chuck taught the boys how to sail and cheer for his beloved Miami Hurricanes.

Chuck had a successful career as a certified public accountant at Morrison, Brown, Argiz. He was one of the firm’s youngest partners and, as a lefty, its most feared softball pitcher. He was also a mentor to so many young accountants, and never missed an opportunity to help someone get a job or improve their standing. He was incredibly selfless.

It was that way at home too with Esta and his three sons. Vacations to Disney, Yosemite, the Carolinas, and New York; Canes football and baseball; Floor seats for the Heat; pickup basketball in the driveway. The family was raised around the dinner table. Chuck would look on with a wry smile as his boys mercilessly antagonized one another and tore into Esta’s cooking.

Chuck was proud to send his money to the University of Texas, so much so that he chose to do it three different times. Each of his sons graduated from UT and eventually married a Texan. Though he never wavered in his “U” fandom, he slowly started to incorporate Longhorn gear into his wardrobe and even took his boys to the 2005 Rose Bowl in Pasadena to watch the greatest football game ever played: Texas 41 - USC 38

In the mid-90s, Chuck began developing symptoms associated with ALS like slurred speech and unsteadiness on his feet. About ten years after that, it had claimed his ability to walk. His now sedentary lifestyle led to other ailments like diabetes and eventually kidney failure. But through it all, Chuck never once asked, “Why me?” He always considered himself lucky and grateful for time spent with close family and friends.

And lucky he was, because four years after his official ALS diagnosis, his first grandchild was born. The average life expectancy following an ALS diagnosis is roughly 2-5 years. By all statistical probability, he should never have lived to see the birth of one grandkid, let alone eight, but he was not about to let a little math get in the way of good times.

Chuck and Esta moved from Miami to Austin in 2019 to be closer to BBQ their grandchildren. Chuck loved to walk them home from elementary school. Using his motorized chair, he’d have a little one on each leg, the others following close behind, backpacks slung over the headrest and handles. “Pop-pop,” as he was now called, traded in road trips for cruises, and introduced the family to the beautiful islands of Curacao, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and Jamaica.

More than anything else, Chuck loved that his family remained close, His favorite moments were when they were all together. He found love and humor in every facet of life, and that’s how it was up to the very end. Surrounded by loved ones, the southpaw CPA from the shores of Honolulu played one last trick, he went to sleep on Tax Day.

Chuck is survived by his best friend, caretaker, pillar of strength and one true love, Esta (ageless), his children, Barry, David, and Jeff, his daughters-in-law, Honey, Lindsey, and Teel, his grandchildren, Ben (22), Sidney (21), Will (19), Zach (16), Cameron (15), Harper (15), Eliza (14), and Jake (14), and “his favorite son” and perpetual bad dog, Alfie.