We apologize to Charles “Chuck” Martin of Middlebury for the confusion around an obituary that appeared in Thursday’s Addison Independent that has resulted in the mistaken belief among many people that he had passed away. This Chuck Martin, a former longtime teacher and football coach at Middlebury Union High School, is very much alive, we are thankful to report.
The mistake happened when we received a note from a grieving community member of a different Charles “Chuck” Martin reporting his death. Although we did communicate through a series of emails, we were mistakenly left with the impression that the deceased Mr. Martin had resided in Middlebury. After we started receiving calls — including from the Middlebury Mr. Martin — telling us that the former MUHS coach was definitely still among us, we put a note with the obituary on the website trying to clarify for readers. We also then got a firm understanding that the deceased Mr. Martin had resided in Hinesburg.
Unfortunately, the incorrect obituary was printed in our Dec. 10 edition, and we won’t have a chance to print the correction until next Thursday. But we want to get the message out there that Mr. Charles “Chuck” Martin of Middlebury is alive and well. Please do not call his family to express your condolences.
If you knew the Charles Martin from Hinesburg who did pass away, condolences should be directed to his family.
We regret rushing the obituary into print and wish the Middlebury Mr. Martin well.