and dementia but died from complications of Esophageal Cancer.
Charlie is survived by his wife Susan, and daughters Deborah and Jennifer. He was a proud grandfather
to Gavin Staley, Deborah’s son, and Kimball Williams, daughter of Jennifer Williams and her wife Emily
White. He is also survived by his sister Harriet, brother Patrick, their spouses, along with their children
and grandchildren.
Charlie was born in South Carolina but spent most of his early childhood and teen years in South Florida.
The family spent many vacations in South Carolina visiting extended family in Conway and Florence. He
graduated from Norwood Senior High School and Dade Junior College before attending the University of
Florida (UF), College of Engineering. He graduated in 1971 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After
graduation, he began his career with Florida Power in Lake Wales, Florida. Susan and Charlie met at UF,
and were married in Cocoa Beach on December 18, 1971.
Charlie continued his work at Florida Power for 30+ years across Florida - Lake Wales, Deland,
Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Maitland and Lake Mary. Charlie loved his work with the power company. He
especially enjoyed studying lightning. Partnering with UF Electrical Engineering professors, Charlie
participated in studies using rockets to trigger lightning and analyze its effects on electrical power grid
equipment. He was a very active member of the IEEE Society (Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers) and was well-known for his expertise in Power Quality issues and studies. Charlie was an
adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida in the Electrical Engineering Department. He
enjoyed teaching and mentoring young engineers. After retiring from Duke Power, Charlie worked for
S&C Electric and specialized in solving Power Quality issues in the Southeastern United States.
Charlie enjoyed taking the family on many adventures. Boating in the Gulf of Mexico to barrier islands,
cheering on the Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium, vacations to Cocoa Beach with Susan’s family, and
pilgrimages to UF to support The Gator Nation are just some examples. Charlie always proudly wore a
UF Gator hat. His hats started conversations all over the world - he even got a GO GATORS in New
Zealand! Family vacations were very often taken around the Summer IEEE meeting as the meetings
were traditionally held in the Western part of the United States. Charlie loved exploring and
photographing the beauty of the National Parks in the US and Canada. He especially enjoyed showing
his daughters (and later his grandson) the amazing and diverse landscape of America.
Charlie was a tender and loving husband and father, a well-respected and admired Engineer, and he had
a fun-loving and bold personality. He is loved and will be missed.
Please join us for A Celebration of Life honoring Charlie . It will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 at
2:00pm at Unity of Daytona Beach, 908 Ridgewood Ave, Holly Hill, Florida 32117.
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