It is with a heavy heart that the Keefe family announce the death of the family patriarch. Charles Joseph Keefe left this world peacefully on Sunday, March 4, 2012, in the comfort and warmth of his own bed, surrounded by the love and caring touch of his large family. Charlie was born on July 31, 1921 in Hartford, son of the late Charles J. Keefe and Mary E. (Murphy) Keefe. He grew up in Hartford and fulfilled his life’s dream of following in his father’s footsteps to become a police officer, but first he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in August 1942. He served during World War II for 4 ½ years in the Pacific. Upon returning home, he joined the Hartford Police Department and met and married Lucille Bolton. He and Lucille raised ten children together until her untimely death in 1967. He rose through the ranks of the Hartford Police Department and retired with the rank of Major in 1970. He met and married Gloria LaPenta, moved to Canton and started the Canton Police Department as Canton’s First Police Chief, retiring in 1986. He enjoyed summers on Long Island Sound and winters in Florida and is best remembered for his incredible storytelling. Memories of family, friends and life experiences were retold with vivid detail to anyone and everyone. He was predeceased by his two daughters, Laura Ahlquist and Peggy Keefe. Besides his wife, Gloria, he leaves his two sons, Dr. Charles J. Keefe and his wife Sally and John Keefe and his partner Jim Stranz; six daughters, Mary Keefe, Catherine Howlett and her husband, Dr. David Howlett, Geraldine Keefe, Joan Keefe and her partner Nick Caristo, Jean Keefe and her partner Gary Hall and Dr. Tracy Keefe and her husband Dr. Zia Rahman; his stepson, Larry LaPenta and his wife Bette and ten grandchildren, Brandy Keefe, Erin Connor and her husband Doug, Dr. Matthew Keefe and his wife Ali, Katie Wood and her husband Steve, Nathan Howlett, Andrew Howlett, Brian Howlett, Zachary Levine, Khalil Rahman and Kamran Rahman and ten great-grandchildren. He also leaves countless friends and acquaintances and his beloved pet companion “Soap”. Friends may call at the Vincent Funeral Home, 120 Albany Turnpike in Canton on Thursday, March 8th from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Funeral will be Friday, March 9th, 9:45 AM from the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 AM at St. Patrick’s Church in Collinsville. Burial with military honors will be at Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield. In lieu of flowers, please sponsor our Dad’s grandson, Kamran Rahman, a cancer survivor, in his efforts to raise money for Children’s Cancer Research at http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/541503/2012 or mail a donation to Kamran Rahman/St Baldrick’s Fundraiser, 95 Beverly Drive, Avon, CT 06001. Please visit Dad’s “Book of Memories” at www.vincentfuneralhome.com for online condolences.