Mobile - Charles "Chuck" Cornelius Hand III, age 76, died Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at Providence Hospital after a brief illness. 

Mr. Hand is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Jo Ann, three children: Jana H. McLoughlin (Chris), Dona H. Kemp and Charles C. Hand IV (Casey). He also leaves behind five grandchildren, Blakely Elaine Moore, Abigail Morrigan Hand, Robert Chase Kemp, Madison Kimber Hand and Dalton Connor Hand and one sister Dorothy Ellen Horne (Bill).

He is a veteran of the Alabama Army National Guard, where he served in both the 278th Artillery and the 31st Combat Engineers, as well as the United States Air Force, serving in the 839th Air Police Squadron where he earned the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, Air Force Longevity Medal and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

Chuck grew up in nearby Bay Minette the only son of Charles C. Hand Jr. and Dorothy Mitchell Hand. As a child he developed his appreciation for the outdoors and shooting by spending much of his spare time in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta hunting, fishing and camping. His rich family history in Bay Minette and throughout Baldwin County naturally fueled his love of history and the South. He was an avid re-enactor, black powder shooter and cannoneer, serving in both Lumsden's and Charpentier's Batteries.. He proofed, tested and fired the cannons at Fort Conde when it opened in July 1976 and the cannon at Fort Gaines the same year. In the mid 1980's he was the Dive Master on the Archealogical Survey of the CSS Huntsville and CSS Tuscaloosa, two Confederate  Ironclad Gunboats scuttled at the mouth of the Mobile and Spanish Rivers. His dream was to have one or both of these vessels raised and displayed at Mobile Battleship Park.

He served with the City of Mobile Police Department Reserve and Mobile County Sheriff Reserve in the 1970's. His work at J. Ray McDermott/McDermott International, Litton Industries/Ingalls Shipyard, Alabama Dry-dock & Shipbuilding, Bender Shipbuilding, various shipyards along the Gulf Coast, Warrior & Gulf Navigation, as well as Field Engineer in Charge of the Wallace Tunnel construction were secondary employment as he was primarily employed as an investigator looking into industrial espionage. He assisted in numerous investigations as an undercover operative for both the U.S. Customs and BATF during this same time. At age 50 he graduated from the SouthWest Alabama Police Academy and went back into law enforcement full time for the City of Prichard Police Department. He served in both the Narcotics division as a member of the Drug Task Force and the patrol division at the Northwest Post. He was Small Arms & Officer Survival Instructor and sniper under the direct supervision of Chief Clyde Foster. While serving in this capacity he earned a Special Unit Citation, Meritorious Service Ribbon, Command Ribbon and was a Combat Master. He medically retired from the Mobile Infirmary Protective Services Department in 2002. 

Chuck was an established outdoor writer, published in Solider of Fortune Magazine, S.W.A.T. Magazine, Combat Handguns Magazine, Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement Magazine, Skin Diver Magazine, Ag-Pilot International Magazine, Gulf Coast Outdoors/Great Days Outdoors Magazine and Boar Hunter Magazine; served as the editor for the now defunct USAShooters.org; he also penned 2 unpublished novels and numerous poems and short stories.

Billy Graham once said, "the greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith."  Chuck did just that!