Obituary of Charles J. Hubbard

Charles J. Hubbard, commonly known as Rex, died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on September 9, 2024, at the age of 95.  He resided at the Village at Duxbury since 2019.  His wife, Libby, died in 2022.

Rex was known as an independent, adventurous and industrious man who rarely took “no” for an answer.  WIth the character of an explorer and the mind of an engineer, he could take apart and fix just about anything.  As a young man, Rex bought a seaplane with the proviso that the seller teach him to fly it.  He was a pilot for over 50 years traveling as far as Alaska and  Mexico.  He frequently flew his family to New Hampshire and throughout New England in trips that were sometimes quite exciting and always memorable.  He also enjoyed skiing, scuba and skin diving, playing tennis, hiking and, on occasion, white water canoeing. 

Rex was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 11/24/1928 to Charles J. Hubbard and Anna Fuller Hubbard. .  After his parents divorced while he was quite young, Rex lived with his mother who later married Henry C. Brunie and moved to New York City.  His family also had a residence on June Hill in Stamford, Connecticut.  Following a family tradition, he attended Milton Academy and Harvard college, graduating in the class of 1950.  He stayed at Harvard earning a Ph.D. in Physics in 1956.

Rex worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on Cape Cod for a few years before moving to Lloyd Harbor, New York, in 1960.  He initially worked at Airborne Instruments Laboratory where he designed and built a highly accurate measurement device called an Interferometer using the newly invented laser.  He subsequently joined Jorway Corporation, as a partner, in Westbury, New York, where he worked for over 50 years designing, building, and repairing computer equipment used in Physics research.

Rex married Elizabeth “Libby” Bradley in 1956 in Whitefield, New Hampshire.  Rex and Libby had three sons, and were married for over 65 years.    Rex and Libby loved to play tennis and joined the Lloyd Neck Bath Club where they made many long-term friends.  They also played tennis at the Cove Neck Tennis Club.  Rex coached and played ice hockey with his sons well into his fifties.  Rex and Libby moved to Lloyd Neck in 1982 where they resided until 2019.  For many years they shared a deep interest in Spanish language and culture, enjoying trips to Mexico, South America and Spain.

Rex is survived by his three sons, Charles J. Hubbard, Jr., Bradley Hubbard-Nelson and Frank Brunie Hubbard, and six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by sisters Susan Hughes, Aries Roessler, and Dana Hubbard Davis and a brother, John Hamal Hubbard. 

A memorial gathering for family and friends is being planned for later this fall.  To honor Rex’s memory, please consider a charitable gift to either the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory or Doctors Without Borders.