We lost a great man on Sunday. My brother-in-law’s father, Chuck Sagan, passed away suddenly as he and his wife and a large group of friends were returning from a holiday cruise in Ft. Lauderdale.

Chuck was such a sweet man – a classic Bostonian – and a true gentleman. I remember meeting him at my future father-in-law’s surprise 70th birthday party when I was just meeting the extended family I would eventually marry into, and loved him from that moment on. Talking Red Sox – or Patriots – or golf – Chuck had a thousand opinions on these topics! And the sense of family he represented to the Sagan clan was remarkable. Living in the same area as both his children – and his four grandchildren – Chuck had a tremendous impact on their lives in ways atypical in today’s culture.

I will think back to his grandson Austin’s bar mitzvah this past Fall and remember him (as pictured above) providing a blessing before the Shabbat meal with his wife and soulmate Phyllis. His life was a blessing, and he is already missed, terribly, by all those he touched in Swampscott, Boston and beyond.

• Boston Globe Obituary
• Jewish Journal – Boston North – Obituary