OBITUARY: Charles Green Banks, Jr.; attorney, judge, public official

Charles Green Banks, Jr. of Carlisle, Penn., beloved husband, father, brother and grandfather, passed away in Harrisburg in the early morning of May 20, 2022, of complications following surgery. He was 84.

Chuck was born September 22, 1937, in Mount Kisco, N.Y. to Charles Green Banks and Martha Henrietta von Pfersdorff (Siggelkow) Banks. Growing up in Redding, Conn., he attended Choate School for boys, enrolled at Yale University with the class of 1959, completed the campus ROTC program and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.

Chuck served with distinction in the United States Marine Corps right out of college, from 1959 to 1963. He trained and went to flight school at Quantico, Va. and flew aerial observance in Okinawa, Japan, which he would later teach at Camp Pendleton, Calif. as a reservist. Following his transfer to reserve status, he continued to advance, rising to the rank of Captain.

Having left active duty and recently earned admission to Columbia Law School, Chuck married the love of his life, Susan Symes Johnston, on September 5, 1964. They wed at Huguenot Memorial Church in the bride's hometown of Pelham, N.Y., and honeymooned in Bermuda. They remained happily married for more than 55 years until her passing in 2020.

From their first apartment in Washington Heights, N.Y., Chuck earned his LL.B. from Columbia in 1966. He landed a job at the prestigious Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy law firm in Manhattan in time for the birth of their daughter Molly in 1967 and son Charlie in 1969. To accommodate their growing family, Chuck and Susan moved a few miles north into Westchester County. They lived in Bronxville, Chappaqua and Katonah successively for the next 39 years, before semi-retiring to Carlisle, Penn. in 2010 to be closer to their grandchildren.

Following his time with Milbank Tweed, he set up a small practice of his own in Chappaqua in the early 1970s, growing in success and scope until he merged his practice with a new one in nearby Mount Kisco in the early 1980s. Chuck continued practicing in Mount Kisco for decades, rising to become senior partner at his firm. He stepped down from his partnership in Banks Shapiro Gettinger & Waldinger after he and Susan moved out of state, but he never fully retired. Indeed, he stayed on with the firm in an of-counsel capacity, working with clients even from his hospital bed days before his passing. As a passion project of his own, he cultivated an expertise in Episcopal canon law, and ably provided legal counsel to the Diocese of New York as Vice Chancellor and of Central Pennsylvania as Vice Chancellor and Chancellor.

A few years after arriving in Chappaqua, Chuck became active in local politics, joining the New Castle Town Republican Committee and later winning election and re-election as Town Supervisor in 1977 and 1979, respectively. After relocating to Katonah, he resumed his public service when he accepted an appointment as Town Justice by the Bedford Town Supervisor to fill a vacancy in 1995. Voters returned him to the bench three times, leading to 14 distinguished years of service before he and Susan left for Pennsylvania. During his political career, he was also a valued campaign staffer and adviser to multiple successful local and New York State elected officials.

Chuck was a lifelong avid sportsman and outdoorsman; he was a member for more than 50 years of the Camp Fire Club in Chappaqua, sharing his passion for shooting, hunting, fishing, exploring and campcraft with fellow members. With them, he co-founded and helmed the Camp Fire Conservation Fund, sustaining the Club's long tradition of regional conservation efforts to keep the surrounding environs and wildlife robust and beautiful. His love for the outdoors took him to hunting grounds around the world, including the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, South Africa and others.

Chuck and Susan spent much of their leisure time traveling the world together, from the North Sea to the Galápagos Islands to a river cruise through Europe for their 50 ^th wedding anniversary.

Chuck is survived by his daughter Mary Lane (Banks) Talley, son Charles Green Banks III, son-in-law Scott George Talley, and granddaughters Katherine Mae Talley and Megan Rose Talley. He is also survived by his sister Sandra (Banks) Tucker and sister-in-law Julia (Spencer) Banks, widow to his late brother John Gerald Christopher Banks, along with their children and grandchildren.

Services are to be announced. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. John's Episcopal Church of Carlisle, Penn. and St. Matthew's Church of Katonah, N.Y.  www.Since1853.com