Charles Paul Sasser

Age 82, passed away peacefully at his home in Bosque Farms, New Mexico, surrounded by his loving family on Friday, July 25, 2014. Charles was born in 1932 in Bogue Chitto, Mississippi, to Vivian Alba Sasser and Dorothy McClelland. He was the third of five children, with older brothers, Ray and Billy, as well as a younger brother, Bobby, and sister, Dorothy. Charles worked in a broom factory and helped in his father’s country store before leaving Bogue Chitto at the age of 18 to enlist as an Airman in the Air Force. He served in the Korean Conflict as an air craft mechanic and continued to work for the Air Force in the Civil Service for 38 years. He headed up the maintenance division which repaired and serviced the experimental aircraft. He worked on the recovery team for several crash sites and contributed his expertise on the space shuttle. Charles met and fell in love with a young secretary while stationed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and married Patsy Jean Douglass on October 4, 1958. The couple adopted three children, Holly, Paul and Lisa, and remained faithful to each other until the time of Charles’s death. In 1976, Charles’s unit was moved to Ohio, and the family relocated to Enon, Ohio, where they remained and gained many lifelong friends before returning to Albuquerque in 1994. It was in Ohio that he acquired an interest in metal detecting and coin collecting. Charles was a quiet, spiritual man and a patient, loving father and husband who was regarded as compassionate and helpful by those who knew him. Charles is survived by his wife of 56 years, Pat Sasser, of Albuquerque, NM. He is survived by three children, daughter, Holly Cook and husband Tom, of Round Lake Beach, IL, son, Paul Sasser and wife, Antonia, of Los Lunas, NM, and daughter, Lisa Abeyta and husband Lawrence, of Albuquerque, NM. He is survived by nine grandchildren, Rachel Abeyta, Jonathon Abeyta, Thomas Abeyta, Abigail Sasser, Thomas Cook, Michelle Cook, Alejandra Sasser, Brandon Cook, and Andrea Sasser. He is survived by a brother, Billy Sasser and wife, Charlene, of Bogue Chitto, MS, and sister, Dorothy Milling, of Hattiesburg, MS. Visitation will be held Sunday, July 27, 2014, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at FRENCH – Lomas. The Memorial Service will be held Monday, July 28, 2014, 9:00 a.m. at FRENCH – Lomas. Interment will follow at the Sandia Sunset Gardens. The family extends their deepest gratitude to the caring support provided by Hospice of Sandias. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to the Alzheimers Association, www.alz.org or 9500 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Suite 121, Albuquerque, NM 87111.