Charles Ober passed away peacefully at his daughter’s home, Prospect Farm, in Buckingham County on Dec. 12, 2014.
He is survived by Marjorie W. Ober, partner, and five children by his deceased first wife, Eleanor Smith Ober, Christine Bridge Taylor (Wayne), Constance Ober (Carlton Brooks), Diane Ober (John Alexander), Lynne Daly (Frank), and Jonathan Ober (Kristen); 11 grandchildren, Jamie Bridge, Allie Robins, Wister Jefferson, Meredith Brooks, Guthrie Alexander, Addie Alexander, Frank Daly, Erin Daly, Emmie Daly, Will Ober and Charlie Ober, as well as five great-grandchildren, Emilie and Brooks Jefferson, James Walter Robins, and Dyson and Barrett Daly.
Charles Ober was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 23, 1928 and grew up there and in nearby Pottstown. He studied art at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art (now the University of the Arts), class of 1949, before entering the U.S. Navy. After four years’ service, he settled in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area of Virginia.
His career includes work as an advertising artist, art director and creative director for several advertising/public relations agencies in south Hampton Roads. He also free-lanced for five years as a light-show artist/producer for discotheques, concerts, and business presentations from North Carolina to New York and Portugal.
In addition, in 1980 he opened a visual arts studio, One Point Six, named after the Golden Mean ratio common in nature and art. He created stained glass works, paintings and photography under that name for 15 years. In 1988 he began his own company, Word Weavers, Inc., offering creative services and desktop publishing for business clients in Hampton Roads and Mathews, Va.
From 2007 until his retirement in 2014 he was art director of Mariner Media, an advertising and publishing agency in Buena Vista, Va.
His professional awards include a National Addy Award, a Gold Medal from the New York Film & TV Festival, Best-In-Show awards from advertising and art-related exhibitions, a Desi Award for Graphics from “Graphic Design” magazine, and various other honors from printing and advertising organizations. His photography also received top awards in Hampton Roads.
There will be a private celebration of Charles’s life at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Annual Fund of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pa., in memory of Eleanor Smith Ober. Contact the Office of Advancement, 320 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102, telephone: 215-717-6140.