I was in Southern California last month for my cousin Charlie's memorial service, who passed away in April. He was married to Sherry (the oldest of us first cousins), and next year would have been their 60th wedding anniversary. They have three children (and spouses) and eight grandchildren (with three spouses).
If you had to come up with two things to say about Charlie, most people would say he was quiet and was quick to flash a warm smile. While those are true, spend a little time talking with him and you would find him knowledgeable and genuinely interested in what you were saying. But if you start asking other people about him, you’ll hear that he was the epitome of an engineer, highly faithful, and had what seemed to be boundless generosity. As we gathered to remember Charlie, people talked about all of those qualities and more.
Just like my sons and I are, Charlie was an unabashed tech geek. Since he was close to my mom’s age, he cut his teeth on computers of earlier generations than I did, and he was able to keep up as technology marched forward. I can only imagine his amazement that things changed so much.
Charlie’s faith was an integral part of who he was. Not merely a member, he helped wherever it was needed, whether it be technical help, teaching, or in a leadership role. Being a choir member was a passion.
Generosity to others is something that was part of Charlie’s nature. Perhaps the most obvious example for the family was him offering to have his in-laws (my aunt and uncle) move in with him and Sherry, which they eventually accepted. After my uncle passed away, there were many years where Charlie happily made sure that my aunt was comfortable and had whatever she needed, whether it be rides to appointments or that things were as they should be in her wing of the house.
Because of the way things worked out, this was the first time I’ve been in the Los Angeles area since the end of 2019, so there were a lot of people I hadn’t seen since then. When my dad’s family gets together, it’s not a quiet affair, with lots of talking and outbursts of laughter. This time was no different. Charlie would have enjoyed it, wandering between groups, making sure people had what they needed. But most of all, he would be smiling.
