Charles Tighe

Charles Moon Tighe (Charlie/Chuck) of Longs, SC, formerly of Wilmington, NC, and Essex, CT, at 91 years old, died on Monday, March 16, 2026.

He was born on September 29, 1934, in NYC, and grew up in Litchfield, CT. He attended and played football at The Kent School (1953), graduated with a degree in History and Political Science from Harvard College (1957) and joined Harvard Crew rowing on the Charles River. He graduated from Harvard Law School (1960) with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and former MA Governor Michael Dukakis as classmates. He served in the US Army Reserves in the Security Agency at Harvard, a term extended two years due to the Berlin Blockade.

His mother, Jeanette Ida Moon, was the greatest influence on his life and his father, Charles William Tighe, was his greatest inspiration for his work and community participation.

He married Naomi Watson, settling in Essex, CT, and had 3 children: Alex (CT), Leila (MA), and Jason (CT). He worked with several law partners in New London and Essex, CT, and ultimately Old Saybrook, CT. He practiced estate planning, zoning and planning for towns, and then eventually corporate business planning. He was instrumental in structuring the planning and zoning for Essex, CT, which has consistently been named #1 small town in the country by Yankee Magazine.

Charlie loved history, politics and the law. He was an avid reader of history and the classics and was part of an intellectual group of Constitutional Conservatives. In 1981, he argued and won a Connecticut Supreme Court case striking down a statute preventing bars and restaurants from serving liquor on Good Friday. It required research into old Puritan laws and customs from the 1600’s.

He was admitted to practice in all courts in CT and NC, as well as the US District Court for CT and the US Courts of Appeal for the Second and Fourth Circuits.

On the weekends, you could find him knee deep in his garden and every fall, he would pack up his family to spend two weeks on Nantucket surfcasting for bluefish and bass off the beaches. His favorite place was Siasconset, Nantucket, MA, where his parents owned a home.

In 1993, he and his second wife, Heather, moved to Wilmington, NC, and had two children, Parker and Brittany, also from NC. There, he successfully established a new law practice in employment law, finding the distinctively different Southern views on industry and regulations.

In addition to his previously mentioned wives and children, he is survived by his grandchildren: Alex, Madeline, Colette, Sawyer, Henry, Skylee, Kayla, Jackson, and a great-grandson, Hunter.

Published by Harford Courant
– See more at: https://www.courant.com/obituaries/charles-moon-tighe/

and Dignity Memorial
– See more at: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/little-river-sc/charles-tighe-12784543

He loved music. He played the guitar and the banjo. He was often found on Sunday afternoons on our big green couch listening to any and all classical composers most of the afternoon. A Capella groups were particular favorites, I’m sure owing to the Kroks. He introduced me to many different a Capella groups like Chanticleer and we would listen to the Kroks online once I showed him how to access it. We went to see the Vienna boys choir too! 

As a young girl I loved playing his Harvard solo performance of “Honey Bun” from South Pacific on my record player, belting it out with him. I was obsessed with the idea that his voice was on a record!! 

In his last days I went down to SC to be with him and the first thing I did was put the kroks and Chanticleer on Spotify. He could barely talk, but he managed to harmonize with the music with a giant grin on his face while we sang together holding my hand. It calmed him. 

I came to Boston for college because of my memories going to Harvard reunions with my mom and dad. We always made a point of going to hear the Boston Camerata. 

He was a kind, gentle and amusing man. Harvard in the 50s shaped men in a way that was like gold. 

 – Leila Tighe