The youngest of seven children, Charlie was predeceased by his parents Mary and Harry; his brothers Sam, Eli, Jake, Maurice, and Louis, and his sister, Fannie Laviage Nathan.
Charlie is survived by his wife of seventy-one years, Evelyn, daughter Marlene Laviage Tanner and her husband Chuck, son Ronnie Laviage and his wife Susan. He is also survived by grandchildren Marka Shapiro, Lisa Hoover, and Steven Laviage; great-grandchildren Emme Hoover and Stone Hoover.
If you were fortunate enough to have known Charlie, you were blessed. He never met a stranger and was never without that beautiful smile and warmth that enveloped his friends and loved ones. A master storyteller and never at a loss for words, Charlie was also never too busy to be a wonderful listener. He had the incredible knack of making everyone feel as if whatever they expressed was important to him, no matter how trivial, never failing to ask what was going on in their lives and actually listening and commenting before discussing his own.
When he was two yeas old, Mary and Harry moved the family to Galveston where Harry opened a Kosher bakery. Charlie was an inherent entrepreneur his entire life, began his career as a little boy delivering bread for his father’s bakery. After his father’s death years later, Mary moved the family to Texas City where she opened a grocery store and Charlie was her clerk and butcher.
He then moved on to working at Battlestein's clothing store. With his smile and charm, it is no surprise that he became their top salesperson. Several years later, Charlie's entrepreneurship kicked into gear when he decided to open his own business.
L & L Loan was a major success until a devastating fire forced him to close. It was heartbreaking but Charlie had a family to support and he used his artistic talent to open a sign painting business. "Best Signs" an apt name since Charlie painted everything from windows and billboards to an 18 wheel trailer, and everything Charlie did was the best. After years of painting, Charlie decided to take his career in yet another direction. He went to work with his brother Louis to learn the scrap metal business and found where the twists and turns of his career path were leading him.
At 41, Charlie opened Ace Scrap Metal and this business, second only to his family, was his passion.
Everyone in Charlie's sphere knew how much he enjoyed sports and he looked forward to Sundays on the golf course with his brothers. However it was his love of and skill at baseball that superseded all. He not only loved baseball but was an extremely talented player; talented enough that he was invited to play baseball for the Chicago Cubs but before he could accept, Uncle Sam dropped a draft notice in his mailbox that was, obviously not an invitation but a demand. His dream of becoming a professional was gone but he played on the Army's baseball team and never lost his devotion to the game. If there was a stick and a ball, Charlie was there. He was always prepared to play no matter when or where the game with glove and cleats at the ready. As time went on, his #1 priority was always his family and they were included and were his greatest fans. Ronnie was always the bat boy with a matching uniform and Charlie coached Ronnie's baseball team. His love and talent for the game were not overlooked or taken for granted by anyone who saw him play. In 2012, Charlie was inducted into the JCC Hall of Fame.
While Ronnie was a major part of Charlie's athletic side, Marlene was 'daddy's little girl'. Charlie was a dedicated and devoted father and a “daddy” in every true sense of the word. He was involved in every aspect of Marlene’s and Ronnie’s lives and loved every minute of it. He adored his children and never let them forget it.
Backing up a little and aside from the obvious, let's take a look at how Marlene and Ronnie came into this picture.
On August 9, 1948, Charlie spotted Evelyn on the beach and that began a fairytale romance for the ages. Their first date (fittingly) was at Buff Stadium. Fifteen days later they were engaged and married the following month. And they shared many more games in the years ahead.
For 71 years that romance and love never faded. Ronnie and Marlene were the joyful and loving outcome of that love and romance. They were a family in every sense of the word. Charlie and Evelyn took pride and pleasure in spending time with their kids and then with their grandchildren, Marka, Lisa and Steven and they were a major part of watching them grow to adulthood and begin families of their own. Soon there were great grandchildren. Emme and Stone were cloaked in the same love that had been given to their parents and grandparents by Charlie and Evelyn and Charlie had a new baseball buddy with Stone.
Charlie’s family and friends were blessed to have had him in their lives and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him but NEVER forgotten. And the words he loved to hear and heard hundreds of times said to him adoringly by his grandchildren and then his great grandchildren each time they left him will echo forever …
“I love you, my Darling.”
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