Father Charles Henry Muzzey, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington for six decades who served faithfully in parishes across Maryland and in hospital ministry, died Oct. 6, 2025, at his residence in Laurel, Maryland. He was 93.
Born Aug. 12, 1932, in Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of Charles Melvin and Gertrude Marie (Fahle) Muzzey. He was baptized Oct. 3, 1951, and confirmed Nov. 18, 1952, at Saint Mary Parish in Aurora, Illinois.
Father Muzzey attended Ardsley High School in Ardsley, New York, and later earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College in Saint Mary, Kentucky, in 1961.
Before discerning his vocation to the priesthood, he served in the U.S. Navy as a communications technician and later worked for IBM as a comptometer operator and systems planner. He entered Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1961, where he earned a master of divinity degree and was ordained by Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle as a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on May 8, 1965, at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle.
Following his ordination, Father Muzzey was assigned as parochial vicar at Saint Pius X Parish in Bowie, Maryland. He later served at Saint Raphael Parish in Rockville, Saint Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, and Saint Ambrose Parish in Cheverly, Maryland where he became pastor in 1977.
Wanda Zebrowski Curtis, who was a student at Saint Pius X Parish in Bowie when Father Muzzey served there, remembered him as “always smiling — just a very kind man,” she wrote in an online tribute on Legacy.com.
In 1979, Father Muzzey was appointed parochial vicar at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Newtowne, serving there while also assisting as administrator at Saint John Vianney Parish in Prince Frederick, Saint Paul Parish in Damascus, and Our Lady of the Wayside Parish in Chaptico when those parishes were temporarily without a pastor.
Two years later, he was named pastor of Saint George Parish in Valley Lee, where he ministered for nearly a decade.
In the 1990s, he served as parochial vicar at Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Silver Spring and Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Derwood, where he was affectionately known as “Father Charlie” and remembered fondly by longtime parishioners there.
In 1996, he was appointed chaplain at Saint Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, providing spiritual care to patients and staff. He returned to the Archdiocese of Washington the following year as a senior priest at Holy Family Parish in Hillcrest Heights. Father Muzzey retired in 2002, living in Kensington and later in Laurel, where he continued to offer pastoral support to parishioners and fellow priests.
A viewing was held Oct. 14, 2025, at Saint Ann Parish in Tenleytown, followed by a Vigil Mass. A second viewing took place Oct. 15 before the funeral Mass, which Cardinal Robert W. McElroy celebrated at Saint Ann. Interment will follow at a later date at Saint Peter Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
