Charles T. Heberle of Annisquam died Dec1993 at home after a brief illness. He was 82.   A lifelong Gloucester resident, Mr. Heberle graduated from Gloucester High School in 1928. He attended Boston University for two years before joining his family's business, Gloucester Coal and Lumber Co.   He handled public relations and advertising for the Building Center of Cape Ann for many years and was former chairman of the company, which celebrated its 90th anniversary this year.  He was a member of the board of directors and former chairman of Lumberman's Merchandising Corp. in Wayne, Pa.  He was a member of the board of directors of Northeastern Retail Lumbermen's Association.   He was former president, treasurer and director of Annisquam Association Inc.; longtime director of the YMCA; honorary trustee of Addison Gilbert Hospital; former president of Rotary Club of Gloucester; director of Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce; former director of Cape Ann Bank and Trust Co.; longtime trustee of Cape Ann Savings Bank, and treasurer of Gloucester Transit Mix Inc.  He served in the U.S. Air Force Western Training Command during World War II.  He is survived by three daughters, Nancy Grayson of Delray Beach, Fla., Harriett Van Wart of Scituate and Peggy Huff of McLean, Va.; a son, Col. Charles T. III of Tacoma, Washington.

Source: Boston Herald 
Page: 056 
Subjects:  
Region: Boston Metro, Massachusetts 
Obituary: Charles T. Heberle of Annisquam died Sunday at home after a brief illness. He was 82. A lifelong Gloucester resident, Mr. Heberle graduated from Gloucester High School in 1928. He  attended Boston University for two years before joining his family's business, Gloucester Coal and Lumber Co.   Mr. Heberle handled public relations and advertising for the Building Center of Cape Ann for many years and was former chairman of the company, which celebrated its 90th anniversary this year.   He was a member of the board of directors and former chairman of Lumberman's Merchandising Corp. in Wayne, Pa.   He was a member of the board of directors of Northeastern Retail Lumbermen's Association.   Mr. Heberle was former president, treasurer and director of Annisquam Association Inc.; longtime  director of the YMCA; honorary trustee of Addison Gilbert Hospital; former president of Rotary  Club of Gloucester; director of Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce; former director of Cape Ann Bank  and Trust Co.; longtime trustee of Cape Ann Savings Bank, and treasurer of Gloucester Transit Mix Inc.   He served in the U.S. Air Force Western Training Command during World War II.  He is survived by three daughters, Nancy Grayson of Delray Beach, Fla., Harriett Van Wart of Scituate and Peggy Huff of McLean, Va.; a son, Col. Charles T. III of Tacoma, Wash.; nine grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Annisquam Village Church.
Burial will be private.
Arrangements are by Pike-Grondin Funeral Home, Gloucester 

CHARLES T. HEBERLE, 82; DEALER IN BUILDING SUPPLIES ON CAPE ANN 	
	
Charles T. Heberle, an innovative retailer of building supplies who took a small, family-owned coal company in Gloucester and parlayed it into the Building Center of Cape Ann, a 75-employee home supply center doing between $5 million and $7 million in sales annually, died Sunday in his home in Annisquam. He was 82. Mr. Heberle was one of the first to foresee the need for independent lumbermen to band together to face the onslaught of the large chain stores. 
In 1953, he opened the country's first drive-in lumber yard, an innovation that soon yielded additional business from the small contractor, and, in 1956, created one of the first profit sharing plans for employees, because, as his son, Charles 3d, said yesterday, "This business is not just about making money, it's about feeding 75 families." 
Mr. Herbele was born in Gloucester. He graduated from Gloucester High School in 1928 and attended Boston University, but returned home at the the end of his sophomore year to work for the Gloucester Coal and Lumber Co. 
The company was founded by his his father, Charles T. (Cap) Heberle, a Gloucester towboat operator. According to Mr. Heberle's son, Charles 3d, Cap Heberle "saw the first steam vessel enter Gloucester Harbor around the turn of the century and realized the future was in coal." 
In what Charles 3d described as a "serendipitous occurence," Cap Heberle salvaged a barge that had caught fire and sold the disabled craft for $10,000, "a princely sum at the time," which allowed him to enter the coal business. 
The coal company later became the Gloucester Coal and Lumber Co., and, with the addition of kitchen supplies and hardware, the Building Center of Cape Ann. 
Mr. Heberle served on the board of directors and was chairman for many years of the Lumberman's Merchandising Corporation in Wayne, Pa., the world's largest lumber cooperative, because, according to his son, "He saw the big guys coming and knew the only way for the independents to survive was to band together." 
The cooperative now includes about 3,000 independent lumber dealers and is one of the largest lumber buyers in the world. 
During World War II, even though in his 30s, Mr. Heberle, who had a pilot's license, fought for a year to get into the Army Air Corps, where he eventually trained fighter pilots, six flights a day, six days a week. 
After the war, inspired by a tollbooth the family passed through on a ski trip, Mr. Heberle applied the concept to his lumber yard and added a tollgate to allow small contractors to buy goods direct from the yard and avoid a time- consuimng trip into the building. 
According to his son, who now runs the center, Mr. Heberle "was always at the forefront of employee relations." 
In 1956, he created a profit-sharing plan for his employees and in 1959, using some of its funds, bought a lodge on Merrymeeting Lake in New Hampshire that is run by and for the employees. 
Mr. Heberle served as president, treasurer and director of the Annisquam Association. He also was a longtime director of the Gloucester YMCA, an honorary trustee of Addison Gilbert Hospital, past president of the Rotary Club of Gloucester and a director of Cape Ann Bank & Trust Co. 
He had been married to Bertha (Hay), the daughter of the lighthouse keeper at the Gloucester's Eastern Point Station. She died two-and-a-half years ago and, according to his son, Mr. Heberle never quite recovered from her death. "They were each other's best friends," he said. "They were married for 57 years and there was nary a harsh word between them." 
He desribed his father as "a real straight shooter, a New England kind of a guy who believed in a fair day's wage for a fair day's work and treated everybody on the square." 
He leaves three daughters, Nancy Grayson of Delray Beach, Fla.; Harriett Van Wart of Scituate and Peggy Huff of McLean, Va.; his son, Charles T. 3d of Tacoma, Wash.; nine grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.