Charles Harold Mistele

Charles Harold Mistele of Bluffton, SC passed away on March 9, 2020. He was 76 years old.  Mr. Mistele was born in Detroit, MI on May 27, 1943 to the late Harold Ezra Mistele and the late Elisabeth Caldwell Moore Mistele.

Raised in Grosse Point, MI, he was a graduate of Grosse Point High School, aka ‘The High’.  He was a graduate of Western Michigan University where he was the president of his fraternity, Delta Upsilon.  Shortly after graduation, he married his college sweetheart, Diane DeZemler with whom he spent almost 58 wonderful years.  He attended graduate school at the University of Detroit.  He joined the family business started by his great grandmother, The Mistele Coal and Oil Company. It was founded in 1895.

Antique cars and boats were his passions in life.  He was an avid sailor and competed in the Olympic Trials of 1964.  He was the Commodore of the Spirit of Detroit in 1976-1977. In 1978, he cofounded the Michigan chapter of the Antique Classic Boat Society, and was an avid collector of Garwood memorabilia, including the ownership of Miss America IX.  On March 20, 1931, she became the first boat to break 100 mph on the Indian River, FL and was a Harmsworth Trophy winner.  He rescued the boat from a barn in Algonac, MI and spent years restoring it to its former glory.  He and Diane traveled around the country to various antique boat meets where they met many lifelong friends.  He was also an avid collector of classic automobiles and showed his cars at the Hilton Head Concours.

He always made his wife and three daughters his top priority.  His attentiveness to Diane was noted by many.  They were inseparable.  He was a very proud father who loved to tell those he met about his daughters’ successes.

Almost as great as his love for his family was his love for the University of Michigan Wolverines.  Most home games, he could be found at the ‘Big House’ sitting in Section 41, at the end of row 77.  Hail to the Victors!

He was member of the Detroit Yacht Club, the Bayview Yacht Club and the South Carolina Yacht Club.  

A memorial service will be held at 11:30am on Friday, March 13, 2020 at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd, Bluffton, SC.  Following the service, the family invites you to a reception at the South Carolina Yacht Club. Family will receive friends starting at 10:30am.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Heart Association and Community Foundation of the Lowcountry – Driving Young America Fund at 4 Northridge Dr. Ste A, Hilton Head, SC 29926.

Surviving Charles are his wife of 54 years, Diane DeZemler Mistele and his three daughters: Michelle Long (Norris) of Chapin, SC, Hollis Condon (David) of Columbia, SC and Brittany Tarleton (Huntley) of Bluffton, SC; and 7 grandchildren: Madeleine, Amelia and Griffin Long of Chapin, SC; Erin Grace and John Connor Condon of Columbia, SC and Caldwell and Blythe Tarleton of Bluffton, SC; Brothers Henry (Sandy) Mistele of Grosse Pointe, MI and William (Anna) Mistele of Honolulu, HI., nieces and nephews.

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