Obituary of Charles Yassemedis

Charles passed away peacefully at the age of 97 on August 9 with family by his side. He was a close friend of the late Patricia Emrick of Lowell, MA, and beloved husband to the late Marie Dillingham of Burlington, and the late Mary Psarianos of Burlington. Charles and Mary had four children; David Yassemedis, Janet Ward and husband Alan, Phyllis Brady and husband Dennis, and John Yassemedis and wife Lynne. Charles had 9 cherished grandchildren: Andrea Hensley, Laura Stansell, Daniel Ward, Julie Cunningham, David Ward, Dennis Brady, Matthew Brady, Andrew Brady and Alexandra Yassemedis. Charles had 4 stepchildren: Walter Dillingham, Joan Cody, John Dillingham and Carol Tagliaferri, and a total of 24 adoring great grandchildren.

Charlie grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts, the son of Harry and Marika, along with his brother Frank, and sister Cleo. Greek culture was a big part of his upbringing. He enjoyed baseball, horseback riding and dancing. If you ever heard him sing, you would agree he had an incredible voice.

During his high school years at Watertown High, he worked at a gas station and was able to save enough money to purchase a 1941 Pontiac convertible. His love for having an impeccably clean car started here and continued throughout his life. It was not uncommon to see him washing his car by hand in the middle of winter.

At 18 years old, Charlie enlisted in the military. He wanted to be a pilot but found out during enlisting that he was colorblind. While disheartened, he joined the US Army under General Patton and was part of the 65^th Infantry. He witnessed many soldiers perish before his eyes, including his platoon leader while crossing the Rhine River when ambushed. He was one of two men who volunteered to go back to the location in total darkness to try and save him, showing how loyal and courageous he was. Throughout the war, Charlie wore his cross faithfully and thanked God every day he was safe.  He saw dreadful things during the war as he traveled throughout Germany, Austria, and France. In Austria, he walked through a concentration camp and was so disturbed by what he saw that he never spoke of any details, but teared up telling his family. He learned many combat skills from experienced soldiers in his unit, many of which did not have the luxury of returning home. Charlie was an exceptional sharpshooter. He was known by many as the “Bazooka Man” and was recognized with the Bronze Star for saving his platoon. He also received the Purple Heart for being shot twice, once in the hand and in the leg. When dad recovered from his first injury, he was sent back into the infantry to continue fighting. When he was shot in the leg and recovering in a hospital close to the front, the hospital was bombed and severely damaged. The patients to his left and right were gone, but miraculously, he was left unscathed. He was transported via B-17 to a military hospital back in the states to recover and assigned to fight in the South Pacific. However, he never did as WWII ended.

Not long after the war, he met Mary Psarianos and married in October of 1951. They lived in Somerville, Medford, and finally settled in Burlington in 1965. They were parents of four children - David, Janet, Phyllis and Johnnie. They enjoyed many celebrations and get-togethers throughout the years. One tradition was hosting the big Yassemedis family reunion each 4th of July. The town parade came right past their house. Charlie and Mary looked forward to their date nights where they got dressed up to attend church functions, dinners, dances, weddings, anniversary parties, as well as attending many Masonic, Shriners, and Eastern Star functions. Charlie was a Past Master of the Masonic Square and Compass Lodge in Somerville, and Mary was in Eastern Star. Son David was in DeMolay and Masonic lodge, and Daughters Janet and Phyllis were in Rainbow Girls.

After the war, Charlie was a machinist/engineering technician at Thermo Electron Corporation when it first started back in 1956. He was one of the first 5 employees and worked out of a garage in Cambridge. He was instrumental on the Research and Development team that built the first artificial heart, a tiny steam engine which ran on nuclear power. He flew to Dallas to be present when a team of doctors transplanted their artificial heart into a calf. While the cow only lived for a few hours, it was a major milestone for future advancements in the field of heart research. Dad retired from Thermo in 1991. In 2006 Thermo changed their name to Thermo Fisher Scientific and merged with Life Technologies in Carlsbad, CA where Phyllis’ son Dennis works today. The company now has over 130,000 employees and generates revenues of over $44 billion.

Charlie’s first wife Mary passed away in 1983 after a battle with breast cancer. In 1986 Charlie remarried Marie Dillingham, a schoolteacher in Burlington, and they spent many happy years living in their condo in Chelmsford. Marie also had four children, two boys and two girls. Charlie and Marie enjoyed spending time together, with family, walking, riding their bikes, traveling, and spur of the moment weekend getaways. Marie’s laugh was truly contagious. Just to hear it would make you smile. After dad retired from Thermo Electron, he became a school bus driver for the town of Chelmsford. Dad and Marie had the same school schedule which kept him busy while Marie taught 2nd grade. Dad and Marie were married for 14 years before Marie suddenly passed in 2000.

The years that followed were tough on Charlie. Three of his four children had moved to either the West Coast or Tennessee, and his local son, John, knew that he needed company while living alone. After befriending a colleague who John thought would get along well with his dad, he introduced Charlie to Patricia Emrick of Lowell. Their love of ballroom dancing bonded them quickly. They enjoyed going out dancing together for many years until her heart attack, after which they spent their time together watching their favorite movies, eating Pat’s delicious Italian cooking, and going out to dinner.

In November 2015, Charlie had the opportunity to go on the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. accompanied by his son David, who is also a veteran. They saw the WWII memorial and were able to look up one of Charlie’s good friends from the war that unfortunately didn’t make it home. Nonetheless, they were so happy to experience this special occasion together and with the company of many other local WWII Veterans.

It was during these next few years that Charlie’s memory began to slip. He knew it was happening, first complaining that he couldn’t remember the names of his favorite old-time actors and actresses like he used to. He even went so far as to purchase over the counter “memory enhancing” drugs to the dismay of his family, desperately trying to fix his mind so that he could remember everything he once could. Even though they lived apart, him and Pat kept an eye on each other and celebrated holidays with one another’s family for many years. Pat was a wonderful friend to Charlie and they were very sweet together. Pat passed away in 2021 due to heart failure, which Charlie took especially hard. In his final years, he would often ask about her, forgetting that she was no longer here. While he was not able to dance like he used to, the one thing he loved to the end was his movies. And even though his movie preferences became more and more narrow, they brought him joy, no matter how many times they played.

His final year was spent in Oregon under the careful watch of his daughter Janet and husband Alan, where he passed last week.

Charlie was a kind man that any son or daughter would be blessed to have. He will be remembered for his encouragement, support, and generosity to his family. He was the biggest influence in his children’s lives and is greatly missed. He had God in his heart and prayed daily for his family. He always counted his blessings and was thankful for his life.

Viewing will be held on Thursday, August 17 from 4-7pm at Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, Burlington. A funeral service will be held on Friday at 10am at the Greek Orthodox Church on Montvale Avenue, Woburn, followed by burial at Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington.  Memorials in Charlie's name may be made to Honor Flight New England, P.O. Box 16287, Hooksett, NH  03106.