Charles Huggins, Jr.

Charles T. Huggins, Jr., 75, of Jacksonville, FL, died on March 20, 2018. He was a graduate of Hapeville (GA) High School, Class of 1960, and of Georgia State University, Class of 1964.  From 1964 through 1970 he served in the U.S. Navy as an Aviator.  He was a Vietnam Veteran and Life Member of VFW and American Legion.

In 1970 he joined Eastern Air Lines as a pilot, based in Boston and New York.  While based briefly in Atlanta with Eastern in the 1970’s he served as Mayor of Flovilla, GA. During the 1980’s he and his family resided in Winthrop, MA, where he was active in his church and community. He served as a Sergeant in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, founded in 1638.

In 1990 he and his wife moved to Westminster, CA, where he was a training and test pilot for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, CA.  He volunteered his time as a youth baseball coach and pilot for Civil Air Patrol Squadron 68 in Costa Mesa. In 1995 he joined Polar Air Cargo at their headquarters in Long Beach as a Captain on Boeing 747, rising to the position of Chief Pilot.  In 1999 he joined  Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) as a Boeing 747 Captain. Shortly after moving to Jacksonville, FL in September 2001, he was medically retired and began his long, heroic fight with malignant brain cancer.

As a life-long Methodist, he was a member of First United Methodist Church, Jacksonville, and served as a certified Lay Leader speaker.  He was a volunteer reader for the blind and reading-disabled at the Radio Reading Service of WJCT, Public Radio.  He is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years, Margaret “Maggie” of Jacksonville; daughter Emily H. Leonard (Major John Leonard) of Nashville, TN; son Charles T. Huggins III of San Diego, CA; and son Thomas H. Huggins of Houston, TX; grandchildren Adelaide and Sam Leonard of Nashville.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, April 20, 2018 in First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville, 225 E. Duval St. Burial will be at a later date in the Jacksonville National Cemetery with military honors.

In lieu of flowers the Huggins family request donations be made to either Community Hospice and Palliative Care (support.communityhospice.com) or Farm of the Child (farmofthechild.org).