Dr. Charles Ongena's Obituary
Dr. Charles W. Ongena, St. Clair. If you had met Chuck Ongena and he liked you, he would put his hand on your shoulder warmly and say, “Out of all the people I know…you’re one of them!” Today his family and friends mourn the passing of not just one of people they know, but one of the constant presences. Chuck died March 11, 2012, at age 63.
He was born on April 16, 1948 in Detroit to Dorothy and Robert Ongena. He attended Shrine High School in Royal Oak, MI, where his initials may still be found etched into the choir loft.
He went to Western Michigan (B.A. 1970) and fell in love for the first time with Theresa Keehn. They married December 19, 1970 at St. Suzanne Catholic Church. They reluctantly left the state he loved so that he could attend COMS Medical School in Des Moines, Iowa (D.O. 1973).
After completing his residency in Flint, Chuck and Terry settled in Richmond, MI, in 1974, and as a family practitioner treated the first of hundreds of patients. In 1975, he established Richmond Lenox EMS, the first emergency medical service in the area. For the 25th anniversary of its founding, Chuck received one of his proudest honors: he was named Grand Marshall of the Richmond Good Old Days. He founded the Macomb County Village Clinic (now Henry Ford Macomb Richmond Health Center) in 1978. He continued to see patients at the Clinic until his death and he was committed to providing them with the best care that he could. He was also Medical Director of Henry Ford Medical Hospital Ambulatory Medicine and practicing physician at HFMH. He was past president of the Macomb County Osteopathic Medical Association and a Fellow of the American Academy of Osteopathic Family Medicine.
As an intern, Chuck fell in love for the second time, when an attending physician took him out for his first sailing trip. He soon took sailing lessons with a longtime friend and began saving for his own boat. Chuck owned Medicinal, a Passport 42 which he kept at Lake Huron Yachts in Sarnia. Later he commissioned Quicker (so named because it was a faster boat than Medicinal), a J-120 that he also kept in Sarnia. He sailed in many Port Huron-Mackinac races, including single-handed and doubled-handed with both his wife and son. He was a member of the Port Huron and Detroit Yacht Clubs. Though he loved racing, his favorite trips were the 3 weeks each summer that he would cruise up to Georgian Bay with Terry and his children Chris, Sara, and Stephanie. His children remember that he taught and encouraged them to do anything and everything on the boat, lessons he continued off it as well.
He loved other activities as well sailing. He golfed at the St. Clair Golf Club, he loved skiing, and he was a champion trap shooter. He was an active member of the St. Clair Investment Club and St. Clair Car Club.
Chuck was a devout Catholic and member of Our Lady of the River Parish and Holy Cross Catholic Church in Marine City. Previously he and Terry were members of St. Augustine’s Parish in Richmond, where he helped found the RCE Foundation at St. Augustine School.
Chuck is survived by his wife Theresa Ongena; children: Christopher (Karen) Ongena, Sara (Jacob) Spence and Stephanie (Michael) Munley; and grandchildren: Thomas and Matthew Ongena; Magnus, Aero and Maren Spence; and Finnbarr and Audrey Munley. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, reading to them, teaching them about the freighters that went by the house, and taking them for boat rides.
He is also survived by his mother, Dorothy Ongena; brother, Robert (Judith) Ongena; sister, Sally (William) Dalton; and nieces and nephews, Julie Anne (Daniel) Wiles, and Roseann, Daniel, and Suzanne Dalton. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Ongena.
Funeral services will be conducted Friday at Our Lady on the River Parish, Holy Cross Catholic Church, Marine City on Friday March 16th at 11 a.m, 10:30 in-state at church. Visiting hours are Thursday 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. with an 8:00 p.m. rosary at Young Funeral Home, East China Twp.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Chuck’s commitment to his church by making a donation to Holy Cross Catholic Church, 610 South Water Street, Marine City, MI 48039; put In Memory of Dr. Charles Ongena in the memo line. www.youngcolonial.com
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