Following a year of age-related decline, Charles Howland Montgomery, 91, died peacefully on the 26th of May 2026, with Mary Lou, his wife of 65 years, by his side at his family’s home on Ramsay Hill Road in Walpole, New Hampshire.

Charlie was raised in the Philadelphia area. During World War II, while his father served in the U.S. Navy, the family relocated for a few years to an orange grove in then-rustic Corona, California, 50 miles east of Los Angeles and a very long way from suburban Pennsylvania.

His grandmothers played formative roles in his life, and the majority of his years were spent in two small towns to which they were connected: Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where his paternal grandmother served as the first librarian at the Marine Biological Laboratory; and Walpole, New Hampshire, where his maternal grandmother spent summers on a dairy farm (now the family home) overlooking the Connecticut River Valley.

After attending Haverford School, Exeter, and Yale (with junior year abroad in Paris), Charlie set out for Cleveland and medical school at Case Western Reserve. In Woods Hole one summer he met Mary Louise Pratt from Shaker Heights, Ohio, a student at Mount Holyoke. In 1960, Charlie and Mary Lou married and began their long partnership, initially in Cleveland and next in Hartford.

Their first son, Hugh, was born unexpectedly early at Thanksgiving in Philadelphia. Their second son, David, arrived right on time a few years later while Charlie, Mary Lou and Hugh were living at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines during Charlie’s service as a physician during the Vietnam War.

After returning to the States in 1967, the family settled on Cape Cod, first in Woods Hole. A few years later they moved several miles north to Sippewissett, a part of Falmouth next to Buzzards Bay, less encumbered by tourist traffic, and frequently blessed by stunning sunsets. Private medical practice kept Charlie busy, although he somehow found time to muck about in and work on boats, especially the Kiameche, a graceful wooden catboat with a distinctive tanbark sail, in which family and friends regularly navigated the waters of the Bay and Vineyard Sound.

Known for his loyalty, idealism, honesty, humor, curiosity, and kindness, Charlie quietly took up volunteer roles with numerous groups addressing drug and alcohol abuse, the Samaritans, Impaired Physicians of Massachusetts, the Penikese Island School, numerous church ministries, and several medical missionary trips to Honduras, doing what he could for those struggling with issues he never directly faced himself. Progressive for his time, he was part of the last generation of doctors who regularly made house calls, often bringing one or the other of his sons to local nursing homes so they could learn about life and death.

Unsurprisingly, Charlie’s partner in everything was his beloved wife, Mary Lou. Together and apart, they were immersed in many facets of their chosen community, connected to several of the well-known scientific institutions in Woods Hole, and involved in educational, artistic, philanthropic, municipal and political efforts to help Cape Cod flourish. They marveled in friendships and delighted in family.

A devoted Episcopalian, Charlie became actively involved in lay leadership at the Church of the Messiah, Woods Hole, and routinely enjoyed researching and sharing thorough explanations and interpretations of scripture readings. Over many years, he felt both frustrated by changes in the practice of medicine and increasingly called to religious and spiritual matters. In 1988, he set down his stethoscope and set off for Yale and Berkeley Divinity Schools where, at age 60, he earned a master’s degree in art and religion. He then continued to practice clinical medicine until his retirement in 2001.

Charlie spent his last decades at Howland Farm, mowing the pastures, painting the barn, rebuilding dozens of antique shutters, conducting a thorough inventory of screws, nails, and other hardware (in thousands of jars), and collecting and repairing odds and ends scrounged from who knows where. He could frequently be found contentedly puttering – looking for that perfect something he’d squirreled away somewhere for just such an occasion, or simply humming with a paint brush in his hand and sawdust in his hair while working on a project. Despite his best efforts, he never badly injured himself with a chain saw, a tractor, a ladder or a maul. He was greatly interested in genealogy, organizing and compiling multiple, extensive volumes of family history for several decades and devotedly attending countless reunions of schools, military service, and other groups with which he and other family members had been affiliated. He was a devoted member of the St. John’s Episcopal Church community in Walpole.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a sister, Susan Howell (David), two sons, Hugh (Stephanie) and David (Eleanor), four grandchildren (Katie, Sally, Aaron, and Julia), a far-flung extended family, and countless dear friends.

All are welcome to an Episcopal memorial service at 10 am on Saturday, September 19, which – to accommodate more people – will be held at the First Congregational Church of Walpole, 15 Washington Street on the town green. A simple fellowship gathering with refreshments will follow nearby, at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

If you would like to do something in Charlie’s honor, please volunteer at an environmental or conservation organization of your choice. If you would like to make a financial contribution in his memory, please consider two wonderful non-profits on whose board he served:

Chase's Mill PO Box 608, Alstead NH 03602. 603-835-2280. www.chasesmill.org

Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services 312 Marlboro St. Keene, NH 03431. 603-352-2253 www.hcsservices.org

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Brattleboro. To view Charles's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com