Memories, smiles that still sparkle

Deepa Bharath

His last name is pronounced like the word “sparkle.”

And the fact that he was a dentist was a coincidence. A lot of his

patients thought it was cute.

But there was more to Newport Beach dentist Charly Sparkuhl than

his appropriate last name. He had the deft hands of an artist and the

keen eye of a born craftsman.

When his patients went to other dentists for follow-up work after

several years, the other doctors admired Charly’s work. Charly had a

successful practice in Newport Beach for 40 years.

He loved the community because he loved to be by the ocean. Boats

were his passion. He enjoyed racing sailboats. And later in his life,

he built a 40-foot boat he named Easy Passage. Charly and his wife,

Pat, cruised to Mexico in it.

The two were longtime members of the Balboa Bay Club.

Charly’s love for the ocean is almost indescribable. He relished a

good challenge on the high seas -- navigating his boat, communicating

with other boaters, making passages, getting from one port to

another, and, more than anything else, just being out there.

What was special about Charly was his passion. Whether he golfed,

fished, skied or cruised in his boat, Charly did it with a lot of

heart.

Charly built a lot of that boat with his bare hands. He installed

the engine, the plumbing and even designed its interior. He simply

loved to work with his hands.

As his son puts it: “Most of what he made was of his own design

and most of what he fixed, others could not.”

After he retired in 1986, he opened up a metal fabricating shop

where he made boat parts. He was also a consultant for Duffy Electric

Boats.

But Charly wasn’t only about making parts and machinery. He had

finesse.

He designed and crafted gold jewelry. He made earrings and

pendants for all the women in his family -- his wife, his daughters

and his granddaughters. He made beautiful, fine jewelry with the

family’s crest on it.

He was also a pilot. He owned his own airplane in the 1950s and

flew it to different cities on the West Coast. He flew to Arizona,

New Mexico and Texas.

Charly enjoyed to be around young people, maybe because it made

him feel younger. He was a mentor and a shining example to many,

including his own children.

He liked gatherings and had a great sense of humor. When Charly

got going, he could pull off a good practical joke or spin a

fascinating tale.

He also had a few jokes up his sleeve. And yes, he had quite a few

about dentists.