Charles Melvin Blankenship

His first job out of high school was working in a mile deep coal mine where he prayed all ten hours that if he survived that day, he would never go back. He then drove a wagon with explosives for a few days and decided if he was going to leave in one piece, he needed to leave Kentucky ASAP. By then he had met the love of his life and the prettiest girl he had ever seen, Pauline Burke, at a high school basketball game. They began dating, and after 6 months he enlisted in the Air Force. He asked Pauline to marry him before he was shipped out, and they married on June 25, 1949.

They moved to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois just long enough for Charles’s training and certification as a Radio Mechanic in Airborne Equipment. It was then on to James Connolly Air Force Base in Waco Texas. Though Charles was honorably discharged, there was a moment when he feared being court martialed. One day he drove a military jeep to work on an airplane radio. He failed to put it in park, it rolled down a hill into the airplane. The MP’s suddenly arrived which frightened him. But all they did was send him to driver’s ed for three months. During his air force service he became the ping pong champion of his unit, and later among all his friends in Charlotte.

After his military service one of his sisters, Ethel Ramey and her husband, Ed, who lived in Charlotte, NC, convinced him that this city had a lot to offer a new family. So Charles and Pauline moved to Charlotte. He attended Electrical Contracting classes and became a Licenced Master Electrician. During this time he also took up oil painting, but became too busy with work and family to continue painting. With his wife, Pauline, they opened “Blankenship Electric Co, Inc” in 1965. He wired homes for numerous building contractors and individuals all over North and South Carolina. Tired of crawling under houses and running into the occasional snake, he additionally opened a showroom called “Light Fixture Outlet” in 1985.

Charles literally “lit up” the lives and homes of thousands of Charlotteans. His store motto was “Where Friends Send Their Friends.” And they did. He never once paid to advertise the business, priding himself in giving the best prices for the same fixtures found in other showrooms. By that time, his younger daughter, Terry, had begun working with him and they worked until a back injury caused Charles to close the store at 93. Pauline also worked with him until she was 82. He always said he “wanted to work until he was 100 and then find a part-time job like being a Walmart Greeter. He was his church and neighborhood electrician and the Heating and AC repairman for all his friends.

In the 1980's he sponsored a girl’s softball team for a number of years, which of course was called “Charlie’s Angels”. Charles loved to fish but Pauline hated to clean them so he mostly gave the fish away. In his 50's he even took up golf for a few years. He loved Christmas and always made it unforgettable for his family. His sense of humor was appreciated by everyone who met him. After closing his shop, at the age of 93, he took up his hobby of painting again. Many of his paintings will be displayed at his service and reception for all to enjoy.

Charles was the last surviving charter member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church formerly on Yorkmont Rd. where he taught Adult Sunday School and sang in the choir for a number of years.

He is survived by his 2 loving daughters, Terry B. Williams of Waxhaw, NC and Connie Blankenship of Los Angeles, CA and numerous nieces and nephews. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and his 5 siblings, Avenelle Quisenberry, Ella Mae Wray, Ethel Ramey, Opal Caudill and Paris Blankenship.

A Committal Ceremony with Military Honors will be held on Thursday September 3rd, 2026 at 11:30 AM in the Mausoleum at Sharon Memorial Park, followed by a Celebration of Life and Reception with light lunch at McEwen Funeral Service at Sharon Memorial Park.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Charles Blankenship’s name - something he would very much have appreciated.