Charles E. "Chuck" Bechtold

Charles "Chuck" Bechtold passed away at home on September 3, 2026. He was 83 years old. Born in Vineland, New Jersey to his parents John and Florence Bechtold in 1942, Chuck was the youngest of three siblings, which included oldest, Anne, who passed before him, and survived by his brother, Jack.

After high school, Chuck attended Cornell University where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon before graduating with his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, followed shortly after with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State. In his early career, Chuck worked at Lockheed Martin and moved out to the West Coast.

In the same period, Chuck met Patricia Neal, whom he married in 1969. Chuck and Pat shared a similar impulse to take the less-traveled path, and moved back to Genoa, New York, just north of Ithaca. They bought a house together with woods and fields off of a dirt road, where he remained for the rest of his life.

In that time, Chuck taught as a professor at Tompkins Cortland Community College, where he went on to become the Division Head for Sciences and Engineering before becoming an associate dean. Chuck worked at TC3 until he retired, earning the distinction of Professor Emeritus.

While Chuck continued to teach as an adjunct at TC3 and a math teacher for disadvantaged students all the way into 2026, he found that academia was not his only calling. He spent much of his time at his home with his wife and his four kids, Thom, John, David and Stephen, where he kept together their old farmhouse and land, building goat pens, gardens, and orchards around the property. From felling trees for the wood furnace each winter to fixing cars and tractors with his engineer’s mind, Chuck was most alive when he was physically at work.

Chuck’s fundamental sense of decency remained the bedrock on which all of his life’s work was built. His dedication to family, his remarkable patience, and his modesty distinguished him everyday. At home, he enjoyed being outside, classical music, books, and an Old Milwaukee beer on a hot day. His social energy will be missed, too: he was a quick wit and a friendly face with anyone he engaged with.

Chuck’s legacy lives through the hundreds of students he taught and dozens of faculty he hired at TC3, in his care for the land he lived on for over 60 years, and through his wife and children.

Family and friends are invited to a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 11, 2026, at Lansing Funeral Home, 32 Auburn Road, Lansing. Interment will follow in Lansingville Cemetery.