Charles Witham Memorial Website

Charles K. Witham
The Early Years

Chuck was born Charles Kincaid Witham August 20, 1968, in Edison, New Jersey. Since he shared his first name with his father, he was called Kincaid until he was about twelve and he decided he would be Charles. In high school he became Chuck, as most of his friends know him, but to his family he continued to be Charles. (please continue down the page)

Kincaid, Charles, and Chuck were all very much the same person. He was never in a hurry about anything and was that way from the day he was born. His mother says as a little boy he had to contemplate his toes every time he put on his socks and he has always been the last person to finish any meal.

Charles' unique sense of humor began to develop at a very young age. When he was about three years old he picked up a big pink sunhat his maternal grandmother often wore, put it on and said "Look, I'm Gramma."

Charles parents divorced and he moved with his mother and sister to South Florida in 1972. As one would expect, his academic abilities were evident very young and he qualified for the school system's "gifted" program which he attended two days a week.

He wore glasses (which he regularly broke or lost) and looked like a little professor. One open school night he told his mother he was a geek. Not being wise in the ways of junior high, she was sure he was mistaken and asked his sister if it was true. After gazing at him a minute she answered, very seriously, "Yeah, I guess so."

In seventh grade Charles was invited to take high school SATs. His score of close to 700 in math resulted in an invitation to attend the first TIP (Talent Identification Program) summer class at Duke University where he studied Algebra I and Algebra II.

When he returned to school in the fall Charles became the only eighth grader in a ninth grade class studying tenth grade geometry. At the end of each year the school traditionally gave an eighth grade math award and a ninth grade geometry award. Charles qualified for both; so the school created a "best math student in the school" award for him and gave eighth and ninth graders the usual recognition.

Charles had come back from Duke with a new-found confidence and maturity. He attended the TIP program a second summer and when asked what his new roommate was like said, "He's like I used to be." Charles was the Rensselaer medalist in his eleventh grade for top achievement in math and science. During that year along with members of the school's math club he attended national math competitions in Hawaii. His team received third place overall and Charles took top honors in Calculus.

His math club activities were not all quite as admirable. While attending a competition in Tampa he and two friends were detained by local police when one of them purchased beer with a fake i.d. The school administration was suitably outraged and, rather than leave a permanent mark on their records, put them in orange jumpsuits and in the hands of the janitor to help clean the grounds for the next three days.

It is impossible to know Charles without noticing his unmatchable ability to sleep at any time. During his senior year, his first period English teacher was disturbed that he often fell asleep in class and conferred with a teacher whose class he attended later in the day. On discovering he also fell asleep in that class, they contacted his mother who arranged a medical checkup. "Are you bored?" asked the doctor, to which he said "Yes." The doctor suggested coffee!

Charles applied to Yale after a trip to visit colleges the summer after eleventh grade. Yale was not originally on his wish list, but he fell in love with the campus and, after being there a year, told some prospective students he found it to be exactly as he anticipated and was immediately happy there.