Charleston, IL Park and Recreation Foundation

05/30/2022

Freedom is not free and we remember and thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Please have a safe Memorial Day.

03/16/2022

Lefty Bryden was also a founding member of the Park and Recreation Foundation. He will be missed and we thank him for all of his years on our board.

It is with a heavy heart that we would like to pass along the obituary of a long time Park Board member and advocate for Parks and Recreation for the City of Charleston. Thank You for your service Lefty Bryden and condolences to the Bryden family.

OBITUARY
for
Ewen Linnell Bryden

CHARLESTON, IL – Ewen “Lefty” Bryden Ph.D., 97 of Charleston, Illinois passed away Tuesday, March 8, 2022. A visitation will be held on Friday, March 18th from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Adams Funeral Chapel in Charleston with a service to follow at 7 PM. Inurnment will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials in his honor may be made to the Charleston Parks and Recreation Foundation and left at the visitation/service or mailed to Adams Funeral Chapel, 2330 Shawnee Drive, Charleston, IL 61920.

Ewen was born January 23, 1925, in Waterford, Connecticut, the son of Harland D. and Grace (Rice) Bryden. He married Mary Ellen Ramsey on February 2, 1952, in Springfield, Ohio, and they shared seventy wonderful years of marriage. Ewen is survived by his loving wife; two sons, William (Lois) Bryden of Seymour, IN, and David (Denise) Bryden of Jerseyville, IL; four grandchildren, Sarah (Collin) Crawford of Jerseyville, IL, Andrew Bryden of Glen Carbon, IL, Brett Bryden of Jerseyville, IL, and Chloe Bryden of Seymour, IN; and two sisters, Esther Murphy of Florida and Holly (Albert) Tingley of Arizona. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Ona Hiller and Allison Desormeaux; and granddaughter, Addie Bryden.

After three years in the Navy, Lefty attended Mitchell College in Connecticut and Wittenberg University in Ohio. He first taught and coached 3-4 sports per year at 2 different high schools in Ohio in the 1950’s. Through the 1960’s he was the recreation director at North American Rockwell in Columbus while working on his doctorate at Ohio State. He then founded and chaired the Department of Recreation & Leisure studies at Eastern Illinois University where he worked for 22 years before retiring in 1991.

He always loved baseball. In high school, he was the only left-handed pitcher on the team, leading to the nickname of Lefty, which stuck the rest of his life. Lefty played professionally from 1946-1950 with the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics organizations, and once pitched both games of a double-header. He then played semi-pro baseball for another 13 years. After baseball, Lefty enjoyed working out and swimming well into his 90’s along with bicycling, tennis, barbershop singing, and researching genealogy. He served on numerous boards and held officer positions with park & recreation associations and churches in both Ohio and Illinois throughout his adult life.

Please visit www.adamsfuneralchapel.com to leave condolences for the family.
I

11/01/2021

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C=3PNUHZL0B1C9A&K=UFXHHGGSKBZ0&M=urn:rtn:msg:202111011501279079b8ff0b534bad9a592da73a50p0na&R=3TODFB8K2JM46&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FG%2F01%2Fx-locale%2Fpaladin%2Femail%2Fcharity-2021Q4%2FHoliday2021_AmazonSmile_Facebook_1200x627.png%3Fref%3Dorg_em_img_hol1_x_mkt&H=75IMP1EPJCAAE9P24OTUCJF944WA

04/22/2021

Want to help make a difference while you shop in the Amazon app, at no extra cost to you? Simply follow the instructions below to select "Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc" as your charity and activate AmazonSmile in the app. They'll donate a portion of your eligible mobile app purchases to us.

How it works:
1. Open the Amazon app on your phone
2. Select the main menu (=) & tap on "AmazonSmile" within Programs & Features
3. Select "Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc" as your charity
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app

02/09/2021

Did you know that you can generate donations while shopping for your valentine, at no extra cost?
Simply start your shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/37-1365090 to confirm "Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc" as your charity of choice, and AmazonSmile will donate a portion of your eligible purchase price to our organization.

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc. Support us every time you shop.

11/16/2020

You can make an impact while you shop for Black Friday deals.
Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/37-1365090 and AmazonSmile will donate to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc, at no cost to you.

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc. Support us every time you shop.

10/06/2020

You can make a difference while you shop Amazon Prime Day deals on October 13 & 14. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/37-1365090 or with AmazonSmile ON in the Amazon Shopping app and AmazonSmile donates to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc.

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc. Support us every time you shop.

02/03/2020

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C=2FW00YO9Q8398&K=UFXHHGGSKBZ0&M=urn:rtn:msg:20200203150231b70a94b6f28444d1bfdd05fd5fd0p0na&R=2NFEKFIA5T9VJ&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FG%2F01%2Fx-locale%2Fpaladin%2Femail%2Fcharity%2F2019%2FVAL_1_1200x627._CB423657072_.png&H=C0FCQJXTJU9Q8YRV37USONDJOO0A

12/16/2019

It’s almost a wrap! Remember, when you finish your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com, AmazonSmile donates to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc at no cost to you!

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsmile.amazon.com%2Fch%2F37-1365090%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3iTHxzUAMPbtmBoWjCYQyow63MPFSX4AlKtSszSxdzVmT68C0pKM5fuAg&h=AT1GqSUkDYv--Op4LcEPt5IxCBGRulLUq1oxDjcuQYoBJzZ9lt4i1SQucCYM-I8nBXiIvz8guiJEsVkV2vjHxiKSHT0mYShydpQ4kJLHI1sXlst###EyY-YV2nhT7SetXdrb3gHW5Fv7u8AHTlWD3MkHMna1zNx-cWxsLjU9rDhi4R-MXHPYYV-xt3Znz6NDic4btsUmyM-bubZuE7yR0SqR_yuf0VNhu55I3gT6PWYTagouhpeX0DryVESTEQdMSSd-Yz0UDmkYO_l_gwVA9vS_B_fPUri0qCmN90uwq6WLaDstZ4tAbRLB22LK6_VMHS4yrnoW5fnNaNoTvJ1y0FtFpGPu_KKxtobw0-XQJdq3ZQNH-i4F9pK7dbAh6ksQG1Ba7bWElWJpWo3irY9dNETXWdwIVLhqGpV6m4Kq45pOYoSRFimWiPwqvSOS2zIdYR4zcgWf9DYJLe6prpxsnHlKH7HDhehtmKHBWNjz-rIfVYeidPqqLsjOlyWQbmHURMTXpv67mksGd3fPAhAcRBI6Mjm-XrAF6qo2I1TIIUCDn6BAZSGM5XS9b9cpsRuQ7u9rGg56N6_q3ZIbpksGdcHBIQxtWd08l5o8vpX5RkA55kQS7k3ePEG9yNBQ6UpS

12/02/2019

When you shop Cyber Monday deals at smile.amazon.com/ch/37-1365090, AmazonSmile donates to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc at no cost to you!

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate to Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation Inc. Support us every time you shop.

07/11/2019

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C=ASWUW2XFESZR&K=UFXHHGGSKBZ0&M=urn:rtn:msg:20190708140645ffb6a0d43d8642d88ce2b8c26ed0p0na&R=181ZKYLYCQOZ7&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FG%2F01%2Fx-locale%2Fpaladin%2Femail%2Fcharity%2F2019%2FPrimeDayLeadupAssetsPrimeDayLeadUP_1_1200x627._CB442607429_.png&H=PBERVGNQA7CKC9TGRCVPAHKJAA8A Use smile.amazon.com and help the Charleston Park and Recreation Foundation

07/01/2019

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/f.html?C=3R042M5YNOXHI&K=UFXHHGGSKBZ0&M=urn:rtn:msg:20190701140400796b747f394742fa8aecf2a57990p0na&R=1ZNYPPK7XKMGU&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FG%2F01%2Fx-locale%2Fpaladin%2Femail%2Fcharity%2F2019%2FPrimeDayLeadupAssetsPrimeDayLeadUP_1_1200x627._CB442607429_.png&H=L9TDXABHK3E4DNCWWRVT2SPHF7SA Shop and help out the Park and Recreation Foundation