CHARLES PRENTISS Obituary

CHARLES CHUCK ARMANDO PRENTISS Charles (Chuck) Armando Prentiss of Kailua passed away at home on April 13, 2025. Chuck was born April 4, 1936 in Jersey City, NJ. After graduating from St. Michael's School in Union City, NJ, he went on to earn degrees in economics and city planning from Rutgers University, an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in business management from American International University. He served in various capacities as a regional planner and city manager for the State of New Jersey. In 1972, he moved with his wife Karen Ayotte and three children to Honolulu, where he served as an urban planner for the City and County of Honolulu and executive secretary of the City Planning Commission until his retirement in 1991. Chuck was a retired U.S. Air Force Command Pilot and a Vietnam veteran. After 23 years of service, he retired from the Hawaii Air National Guard and joined the Hawaii Army National Guard for the next 13 years, retiring as a Lt. Colonel at the mandatory age of 60. During his service to the country, he was assigned to U.S. Air Force bases in Dover, Delaware; Tachikawa, Tokyo; and Honolulu, Hawaii, and flew many missions throughout the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia. Chuck was a firm believer in the importance of land-use planning to the quality of life of our communities. Before and after retirement he worked in support of long-range community planning. He was a co-founder of the first Oahu Neighborhood Board in Mililani and served as its first chair. After moving to Kailua, he was elected to the Kailua Neighborhood Board and was its chair for many years. Chuck was a member of a number of city and state boards, including the State Environmental Council and the Honolulu Landfill Advisory Committee. He was legislative chair for Keep it Kailua, and for 20 years he served as president of the environmental land-use planning organization Hawaii's Thousand Friends. For over 50 years, Chuck was also a mentor on land-use planning to many community members. While Chuck devoted much time, expertise, and talent to public service, he also enjoyed sailing and the excitement of NASCAR races. He could fix any car and build anything. Divorced from his first wife in 1983, Chuck married Leigh Nuzzo of Mililani in 1990. He is survived by his wife Leigh; his three children, Cheryl An Prentiss, Kenneth Charles Prentiss (Gail), and Cynthia An Sharkey (Scott); eight grandchildren, Taylor, Rylie, Sarah, Annemarie, Lauren, Alyssa, Nathan, and Dylan; step-daughter Maile Nuzzo Pardue (Edd); and step-granddaughter Alana Pardue. A celebration of Chuck's life will be held on Saturday, May 17, from 2-5 p.m. at his 519 Wanaao Road home in Kailua. Please join us. If anyone wishes to make a charitable donation in Chuck's memory, we would like to suggest Hawaii's Thousand Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations can be made online at http://www.hawaiis1000friends.org or by check mailed to: Hawaii's Thousand Friends, 335 Hahani Street, P. O. Box 342132, Kailua HI 96734.