My Grandpa, Charles Carey

You would love to meet my grandpa. I have learned many new facts about him.

My grandpa's full name is Charles Warren Carey. Charles was the name of his grandfather and his uncle, as well as his father's uncle. Grandpa was born August 27, 1937, a few days after the crash of the Hindenburg. He was born in Oxnard, California. His parents lived in nearby Ventura, California. His family moved to Tucson, Arizona for two years when he was five. In July of 1944 they moved back to California when Grandpa's father became the chief control tower operator at LAX airport. When he grew up, Grandpa was a computer programmer for 30 years.

There have been some interesting people in my grandpa's life. Grandpa's parents were David Howard Carey and Jeanette Allen Walker. Grandpa's father was born in 1907 in Urbana, Ohio, and his mother was born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1913. Grandpa has two younger twin brothers, William Samuel Carey and John Walker Carey. On January 20, 1961, the same day President Kennedy was inaugurated, Grandpa married Jeanette Langton, my grandma. Together they had three children, David George Carey, Alice Katherine Carey, and Paul Edward Carey, my dad.

Grandpa's childhood was interesting. When he was a child he loved to read books and play with toy cars. He also loved to listen to music on the radio, and when he was older he became a jazz deejay for a few years. One memorable event from his childhood was when he was staying at his grandma's house and he woke up when he heard his mother screaming. There was supposedly a Japanese enemy attack on Los Angeles. His father came home from LAX and said it was a false alarm. American anti-aircraft gunners shot by mistake. This is sometimes called "The Battle of Los Angeles."

My grandpa has seen many changes in his lifetime. One historical event he remembers well is the first landing on the moon in July 1969. Some important inventions he has seen are LP's, CD's, and tape recorders. The first computer was created in 1943 by the founders of Univac, the computer company that Grandpa later worked for. Grandpa first saw a computer on a navy ship in 1964. The internet also later became a big change in the world. Grandpa first used email in 1977 while working for Univac.

Even though Grandpa grew up before me, there are both similarities and differences in comparing our lives. We both love to read books and we both love to listen to music. A big difference between Grandpa and me is that Grandpa has two younger twin brothers, and I have one older brother. The most interesting thing Grandpa told me about was "The Battle of Los Angeles" in 1941 which he said some people now think was an alien attack.

As you can see, my grandpa is a special person. My grandpa makes me feel happy.

Cash Vincent Carey, May 2014


Cash wrote this article as part of a family history project for his second grade class at McPherson Magnet School in Orange, California. He had almost as much fun interviewing me as I did being interviewed.

This page was last updated 23 Nov 2014.