Charles Albert Bly

On Monday, March 4, 2019, Charles Albert Bly passed peacefully from this life and into the next in the loving care of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A funeral service for Charles A. Bly will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 11, 2019 at Stover Memorial Chapel where all are welcome to attend the service and share their memories of Charles. Mr. Bly will be laid to rest at Riverview Cemetery.

Charles was the only son of Theodore and Irma Bly and the beloved nephew of Ione, Minn, Catherine, and Walter Fisher. He is also predeceased by his dearly loved Aunt Ruth Cameron and her son Lyle "Fenny" Cameron --all of Strasburg, Virginia-- and by Elmo "Tuffy" Phillips, Jr. of Fairfax.

As a child, Charles sought to improve his world by building dams in the runnels of his front yard (not appreciated) and by petitioning for and sponsoring a Muscular Dystrophy Carnival to which his friends, neighbors, and family generously contributed (very much appreciated). Charles graduated with honors and awards from Strasburg High School and studied Nuclear Engineering at UVA. He completed his master’s degree and worked for the Nuclear Fuels Division of Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, to which he contributed more than a dozen patent disclosures in ten years. Upon his return to Charlottesville, he was employed as a Senior Reactor Operator and Instructor, licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate both the UVA Reactor (UVAR) and the much smaller Cavalier.

Charles Bly envisioned and was the principal investigator of Neutrino-driven Nucleon Fission Chain Reactions. He presented papers on the subject to the American Nuclear Society in the United States and Japan. He was the founder of what has been called ''Reactor Astrophysics", the application of Nuclear Engineering to the study of Astrophysics.

He is survived by his spouse April and by his dear cousin Carol Solomon and her son David of Reston, Virginia.

Honorary Pall Bearers include Leigh Swanson Knuttel and family, Paul Benneche, Tom Porter, Kenny Brown, J Stallings, Margaret Thacker, and Brian Morrison. Dr. Jonathan M. Evans, Chaplain Kevin Adams, Pastor Stan Martin, Pastor Scott Carter, Doris Woodrum, Betty Holloway, Janey Rittenhouse, Eli Sanderson, Sherry Shields and husband David, Chris Grandle, Brenda Newman Copeland, Dr. Singh and the coronary care unit staff.

The family will receive friends at Stover Funeral Home on Sunday evening from 6-8 p.m.

You may sign the guest book and submit condolences to the family online at www.stoverfuneralhome.com

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Stover Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. of Strasburg, Virginia.

The family will receive friends at Stover Funeral Home on Sunday evening from 6-8 p.m.