Charles A McKinley

Born in Columbus, Ohio, February 3, 1938; died peacefully in Port Saint Lucie, Florida on January 24, 2018. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, February 5, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2330 SE Mariposa Avenue, Port St. Lucie, FL. Visitors will be received at the Church at 11:00 a.m. with the Mass beginning at 12:00 noon.

Charles is preceded in death by his parents John A. McKinley and Mary Sunker McKinley; brothers James and David “Pete” McKinley; Sisters Theresa “Sue” Beauseau and Patricia McKinley; brother-in-law Jerry Beauseau; goddaughter, Suzanne Saksa; and special friends, Jay Wise and Royce Arter.

He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 59 years, Betty; son, Joseph A. (Lisa) McKinley of Dublin, OH; grandsons David A. (Kelsey) McKinley, Chattanooga, TN and Andrew McKinley, Dublin, OH; brothers Larry (Ivy) McKinley, Cumming GA; Thomas (Barbara) McKinley, Broken Arrow, OK; and William (Susan) McKinley, Saybrook, OH; sister, Kitty (Frank) McElhaney, Lake City, Florida; sisters-in-law Mary McKinley, Huber Heights, OH and Nina (Frank)Tripp, Gainesville, FL; and godson, Scott Shafer, Pickerington, OH.

.

He is also survived by his Florida nieces, Tammy (Wade) Head, Fort Pierce and Betty (Arthur) Powers, Cape Coral, and their children, Wade II and Nicholas Head and January (J.C.) Coleman. He also leaves behind myriad other nieces and nephews, and, their spouses and children with whom he lovingly stayed in frequent touch via telephone, text, and email messaging; as well as life-long friends Tony Dabo , Columbus, OH, and Chuck Kessler, Roanoke, VA., and special friend, Teresa Baptiste, Fort Myers, FL.

Charles spent his adult life in service to his country, first as a member of the United States Marine Corps. During the Space Race he worked for various contractors at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, culminating with Grumman Aircraft working on the Lunar Module. His signature, along with those of many others who worked on the program, was left on the moon.

After the lunar landing, he served the nation as a civilian intelligence officer for several years. He later embarked on a career with Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin which began in Denver, CO, and took him to California, New Mexico, and the Washington, DC area where he retired in 1996 as a Senior Staff Systems Engineer in Systems Integration. Throughout his employment he worked closely with the United States Air Force, most often reporting directly to Air Force personnel. His retirement was celebrated at Fort Belvoir Officers’ Club where he was presented with a flag that had been flown over several Air Force bases and other key program locations where he had worked. Through all these moves his wife Betty’s support made possible smooth transitions. Charles appreciated that support and recognized that she made sacrifices in her own career to accommodate those frequent moves. He was proud that when she retired from Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems she was the human resources representative for two major programs and was also the administrative supervisor for the Washington, DC, area.

Charles was a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and president of the St. Lucie River Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the latter of which he also held positions at the state level. He belonged to the Friendly Sons and Daughters of Ireland, the Treasure Coast Genealogy Society and he volunteered at the Fort Pierce Library.

Charles spent most of his retirement in service to others. His Irish heritage inspired his interest in genealogy, and he freely shared his knowledge with anyone who needed it. He felt blessed to travel to Ireland several times and was with friends in Stockholm, Sweden on 9/11, where the people reached out in a beautiful show of solidarity.

Friends knew they could call on Chuck with computer problems. He helped everyone in any way he could whether friends or someone he just heard about who needed help, especially older people. He often arranged airline travel and got boarding passes for others. He delighted in making people laugh. His idea of a good day was when he helped someone or made people laugh. Although his own mobility was quite limited, he drove people wherever they needed to go - to doctor appointments, grocery shopping, etc., and his patience was endless. He visited people in their homes or nursing homes and left them laughing. He served on Holy Family’s Respite Care program for quite some time. Giving to the end, Charles’ eyes were donated for medical research.

Above all, he loved his family and friends. Of course, he spent a lot of time telling friends about his son, who has been for many years in a helping position that has positively impacted the lives of many, particularly the homeless of his community; and for building his own wonderful family with Lisa. He was proud of his grandsons’ tenacity and selfless team spirit, and often talked about how both were outstanding students and athletes in high school where they played basketball and baseball. David went on to earn a spot on the team at Ohio University, where he participated on two NCAA tournament teams and was a captain his last two seasons. Charles greatly enjoyed listening to the Bobcats via internet radio and charting the team’s success. He was equally proud of Andrew who chose an extremely difficult college curriculum focused on mathematics and actuarial sciences. Through hard work, he excelled and his grandfather called him his mathlete! But most of all he was proud that they are all good men who reach out to help people in the spirit of the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25.

Charlie’s legacy of service to others- in the workplace and in personal life - can be an example for the entire family and his extensive circle of friends.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the St. Lucie River Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, 628 NE Bent Paddle Lane, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34983 or to Holy Family Catholic Church, 2330 SE Mariposa Avenue, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34952.