Charlie was raised on a farm and loved to fish and hunt. Upon graduation from high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. After completing military police training, he met and fell for the love of his life, Olivene Crowell, who worked in the base finance office. He asked her out many times over several months before she gave in and went out with him. They married a year later in Chaumont, France where Charlie was stationed as security for the base working with guard dogs, base and weapons security, including riding on top of a nuclear missile with a machine gun through the streets of Paris.
In 1957 they welcomed their first son into this world, Charlie, Jr., and in 1960 tragedy struck when their second son, Mark, died at birth. Charlie and Olivene shared 56 years together until her passing in 2012.
Charlie was a licensed Baptist Minister in 1952 and was ordained in 1965. He pastored at several churches, most of his ministry was at Sublime Baptist Church near Hallettsville, Texas. Charlie loved the small community of Sublime, as it reminded him of where he grew up.
After returning to the U.S. from France in 1959, he went to work for a construction engineering company in San Antonio. He started as a field technician working on many large projects, such as the Tower of the Americas at Hemisfair in San Antonio and the Flamingo Gorge River Dam in Wyoming. Charlie quickly worked his way up to management in the company and formally retired in 2010 after 51 years to care for his beloved wife Olivene. In 2012 after her passing, he went back to work part-time for his son at the same company, where he worked up until his passing.
Charlie is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Charlie Jr. and Mary Ann Williams and granddaughter Laura Williams.
Graveside services were held on Wednesday, August 17, 2025 at Memory Gardens Cemetery.
Words of comfort, condolences and fond memories may be shared with the family at www.colonialfuneralhomevictoria.com.
“We will carry the warmth of his love in our hearts. We feel so blessed to have had him in our lives. He lived a long and wonderful life, and we are all so lucky to have had him for as long as we did.”
