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Norfolk/Wrentham - Local Town Pages

Obituary

Charles F. Pyne (born January 29, 1944) of Norfolk, MA died at home after a brief illness on the evening of December 21, 2021.

He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Betsy Pyne; his son, Charles C Pyne, and daughter-in-law, Wendy Pyne of Ashland, MA; his daughter, Sarah (Pyne) Harvey and son-in-law, Zack Harvey of Peace Dale, RI; three grandchildren, William Pyne, Evelyn Pyne, and Kaya Harvey; as well as his two sisters, Carol Schreiber of Laguna Niguel, CA, and Anne Cowley of Victoria, British Columbia.

Charles grew up in Marblehead, MA, graduated from Governor Dummer Academy, then Harvard University, in 1967. Thereafter, Pyne served in the US Navy, including a post at Iceland’s Keflavik Air Station during the Vietnam War.

Charles went on to serve as vice president of Autex Corp in the 1970s and later ran his own financial services consulting company in Boston and New York City, through the 1980s.

Later in his retired years, Charles dedicated untold thousands of hours to raising and training service/seeing-eye dogs for the non-profit Guiding Eyes for the Blind.  

Pyne has also, in recent years, been acknowledged as an early pioneer in “Phone Phreaking”, (telephone hacking). A recent book, “Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws who Hacked Ma Bell,” by Phil Lapsley, documents these experiences.

Charles received patents for multiple pieces of software related to remote-access technology, including LapLink.  

Charles, Betsy and their children summered happily on Block Island, off the coast of RI, from the 1970s onward.

A memorial service was held on Thursday, December 30 at 11 a.m. at the Federated Church, One Union Street, Norfolk, MA. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. For further information, visit www.guidingeyes.org.