Dr. Charles (“Chic”) Henry Felson, 88, died on January 28, 2020 in Scarborough, Maine after a long illness. He had made his home in West Hartford, Connecticut for 40 years before retiring for 18 years to Quechee, Vermont followed by the past four years in Maine. He was born in New York City on June 10, 1931. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Janice; three sons Matthew (Rhonda), Adam, and Ethan (Daniel Schapira); daughter-in-law Victoria, and four grandchildren: Rachel, Zack, Hannah, and Seth. He was predeceased by his son Seth.

He was, in every sense, a renaissance man, well-traveled and well-read, a patron of the arts – and a star athlete. He earned BA, BS and MS degrees from Columbia University and a doctorate from the New England College of Optometry. While an undergraduate, he rode crew and played clarinet and saxophone in the Columbia band. He received his commission as an officer in the US army while stationed in St. Louis. He was an avid skier, tennis player, swimmer, and hiker – always in love with the outdoors.

He was appointed by Gov. Ella Grasso to the Connecticut Board of Examiners of Optometrists, where he served as president and secretary. In those roles, he helped enact diagnostic and therapeutic prescriptive authority for optometrists in the state. He was elected to the West Hartford City Council and took pride in authoring the ordinance that enabled outdoor dining in West Hartford Center. He was a longtime member of the West Hartford Democratic Town Committee. He was also a Justice of the Peace for many years. In Quechee, he served on several committees of the Quechee Lakes Landowners Association.

Arrangements are entrusted to Weinstein Mortuary in Hartford, CT. Funeral will be held on Friday, January 31 at 11:00 am in the Chapel of Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Ave, Hartford with Rabbi Jeffrey Bennet officiating. Burial will be at Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford. Friends of the family are invited to join them after at Elbow Room in West Hartford Center. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Hartford where he loved to workout, Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford which saluted him for caring, without charge, for generations of refugees in his practice, or the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society in Brownsville, Vermont from which he adopted several beloved hiking companions.