Charles Garland Graham

He was surrounded by the love of his family, holding his hands in theirs.

Charlie was born on June 20, 1932 in Higginsville, Missouri. He was the son of James and Elizabeth Cooper Graham and had two brothers; James Walter and John Willis. A few years after receiving his 8th grade education, he was drafted into the US Army in 1952, during the Korean War, and returned stateside in late 1954.

Charlie worked at several different jobs early in his professional career. After a short time of milking cows, he drove a delivery truck for Dr. Pepper Bottling Company, had a delivery route for Rainbow Bread, sold office equipment, and worked for a meat company. Charlie was married to Beverly Misner from 1959 - 1969. In the early 1960’s he went to work for Cook Paint Company and he and Beverly had three children; Gordon, Glenda, and Gloria. Charlie later became the union steward for Cook Paint which eventually led to his appointment as the District Director to the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades union.

Charlie later met Helen DeShong, as she worked in the office of the glaziers union. After one summer of combining vacations with his kids and her girls; Leanne, Danette, and Diane, it turned into a marriage of 21 wonderful years. Charlie and Helen spent eleven winters going down to Texas; sightseeing, riding his motorcycle, and playing golf. Helen passed with cancer in 1997. In 2003, Charlie met Berta Webb Hartup. They were married in 2004. Charlie and Berta loved their trips in the RV, putting in nearly 50,000 miles. One of the most enjoyable trips was for three months, up to Alaska.

As a union representative, Charlie had eleven states to represent. He was very proud of the Iowa Organizing Program where he helped to bring fair pay and benefits to many public employees. The other organizers and their wives, became very dear friends. They spent a lot of personal time together outside of their business events that brought them together. They were blessed to have a reunion a couple of years ago, where Charlie was so pleased to see everyone again.

Charlie owned a boat for many years and loved to go boating. He taught any kid who wanted to learn how to water ski. Whether a weeklong stay at Sportsman’s Resort at the Lake of Ozarks or a quick day trip to Smithville Lake, they were wonderful memories.

Charlie had many adventures on his motorcycle, logging nearly a million miles. He drove his bike in 33 states, reaching both oceans, three of the four providences in Canada, and in Mexico. Many of those miles were with the group that was known as, ‘Charlie, Glen and Friends’. They made a 3,000 mile trip each year for 20 years. 1990 was the first organized trip for ‘Gentlemen Only’ to Tennessee and later ventured to Alaska on their bikes in 1994. 15 of the 20 were couples trips, with the wives going. Charlie was a founding member of the Show Me Wings Missouri Chapter B, of the Gold Wing touring association. And for several years has been a regular member of The Hub Cycle, where he swapped stories and drank coffee with some very good friends.

He enjoyed volunteering at his church, Christ United Methodist. Charlie led golf tournaments for fundraising, maintained the church van, and hosted vagabond day trips for a group of ladies who thought he was the best.

Charlie loved to golf, which began as networking with co-workers and expanded to a group of church friends. Later, he found a way to golf for free, when he worked a couple of days a week as a golf marshal.

In April 2015, Charlie was blessed to participate in the Central Missouri Honor Flight out of Columbia, Missouri. This was a “once in a lifetime” event that he spoke often of. The group left very early from Columbia and headed to St. Louis for a day trip to Washington D.C. They had full law enforcement escort along with rolling barricades everywhere they went. Charlie’s daughter Gloria and family were able to join him onsite to participate and capture pictures to share with the rest of the family. There were hundreds who volunteered to provide these veterans a tremendous amount of praise for their service to our country. It was a very long day, but we are very grateful for his experience.

Charlie was very family oriented. He loved family gatherings, supporting, and helping his kids and grandchildren in their activities and school events. No matter how the fabric of our family changed, no one ever left the family, and they were always invited to our gatherings.

Charlie is survived by his wife, Berta, his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be Wednesday, August 22 at 5pm at Christ United Methodist Church, 14506 East 39th Street South, Independence, Missouri. Funeral services will be Thursday, August 23 at 11:00am at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Graveside services with Full Military Honors will take place immediately following.

In lieu of flowers; the family requests contributions to the memorial fund in Charlie’s name at Christ United Methodist Church. Also consider a donation to the Central Missouri Honor Flight out of Columbia, Missouri; http://centralmissourihonorflight.com/donate/.