Charles (Chuck) La Porte, 95 years old, passed away at his home in Mt. Dora, Florida, on Monday, August 19th, 2024. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Ann, daughters and son-in-laws, Lisa & Brad West, Karen & Gary Manfredi and Nancy & Todd Shaw, grandchildren, Ryan & wife, Kristin, Lindsay, Chad, and Hannah (West), Jane and Lucy (Manfredi) and Aidan (Shaw), great grandson, Cosmo (West), and his sister, Peggy Melvick.

Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1928, Charles and his mother and sister moved from Pittsburgh to Miami in the early 1950's. He served in the U.S. Army and attended the University of Miami on the GI Bill. Upon graduation he went to work as an electrical engineer at the inception of NASA at Kennedy Space Center. He worked as a Systems Engineer and later a First Level Supervisor for the Automated Control Systems Unit, contributing to all of the early missile launches, Mercury, Saturn, Apollo and the Space Shuttle.

In his retirement he enjoyed carpentry, building complex models, repairing electrical items, and gardening. He loved a good cigar, a pastime from early days smoking with his buddies in Pittsburgh, then refined by spending weekends in Cuba in his 20's. Later, he would establish a Thanksgiving tradition of smoking cigars on the patio with his son-in-laws, and whichever brave grandchildren wanted to join in.

Charles will be interred in a private family ceremony at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Brevard County.