Charles A. Jurgensen was born in Goshen, NY and raised on the family farm in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County. Charles was the son of Christian Andreas and Maria (Stahlgren) Jurgensen, who had immigrated from Denmark to Ellis Island in 1893. Charles began his education in a two-room country school in Sergeantsville and later graduated from the Flemington High School in 1927.
He then obtained a college degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University in 1931. Following college, Charles began employment with the DeLaval Steam Turbine Company in Trenton. He continued his 35-year employment with DeLaval, progressing to the position of executive vice president for manufacturing. In 1965 he was transferred to the DeLaval Separator Company in Poughkeepsie, NY where he served as vice president of production until his retirement in 1974. In 1936 Charles married Ann Clare Jaeger from Fort Madison, IA. They were married 65 years until the death of Ann in April of 2002. Both were members of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Carlisle, PA.
Throughout Charles’ life, he served in board positions for civic organizations and libraries. His work on the Board of Governors and Trustees of Rutgers University spanned more than 50 years. Charles joined the International Executive Service Corps in 1975. He spent a year in Iran where he functioned as an industrial advisor. He was also active for decades in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Charles’ membership in Rotary International began in 1927 when the club provided a scholarship which made attendance at Rutgers University possible. He continued a lifelong affiliation with the Rotary Club. Charles authored and published a Jurgensen Family Lineage. He also wrote a 100-year history of the DeLaval Companies, and a family chronology which spanned 150 years of world history.