Chuck's quick wit and humor, honesty and fairness, kindness and generosity, gentle spirit, strong faith, and love for his family filled his life with good times and good friends, and created lasting memories for all. The lives he touched are far better for having known him, and he will be missed.
Born on April 14, 1929 in Hastings, Nebraska to Charles Luther and Bernice Fuller, owners of Fuller Bros. Circus, Chuck was raised on the road and grew to become a consummate circus man for forty years. He rode a horse before he could walk, and was most proud of his acrobatic skills as a bareback rider. But that’s not all he did in the circus. He was an owner, manager, ringmaster, and performed as a fire-eater, magician, trained and performed with monkeys and dogs, balanced on the roly-boly, walked the tight-wire and slack-wire, performed on the trampoline, was a white-face and a hobo clown, sideshow barker, and much more. In addition to his family’s circus, he toured with Clyde-Beatty Cole Bros., Carson and Barnes, Sells and Grey, King Bros., Cole Bros., Hoxie Bros., Stevens Bros. and many other great American circuses.
In 1949, Chuck married the love of his life, Leila Marie Dunlap, and together they raised four children while traveling all 48 of the contiguous United States, as well as Canada, and Mexico. He was a second-generation circus man, with two more generations that followed him into the big top.
Circus seasons don’t run 12 months a year, so while in winter-quarters Chuck began his second career in a field also passed down by his father, photography, in which he became a talented photographer and respected businessman. He owned studios and camera stores in Nebraska, Oklahoma, and finally settling in Sarasota where he had ownership in two retail camera stores and two studios simultaneously, including the St. Armands Photo Center and St. Armands Portrait Studio for over thirty years. He worked at the St. Armands store until his retirement at age 83. His children and two of his grandchildren followed his lead and became professional photographers as well.
Fuller’s rich American heritage dates back to 1620 when two family members arrived on the Mayflower, and includes two United States Presidents, William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison. The family resemblance of the latter is unmistakable.
Chuck Fuller was also an ordained minister, as was his maternal grandfather, the Rev. Charles Marion Fuller, Sr. who, when in the union army during the Civil War, participated in the siege of Atlanta and Sherman’s March to the Sea, both in 1864, and the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington D.C. in 1865.
A venerable entrepreneur and inventor, Chuck developed and patented an air-purifying exhaust system for the photofinishing and printing machine used in his camera stores. He frequently invented creative solutions to everyday problems around the home and for his businesses. Not surprising, since his maternal uncle, also named Charles Fuller was an inventor who in 1898 made the first of four Fuller cars and held 27 patents for automotive design innovations, three of which are still in use today, including use of a drive shaft to transfer power from the engine to the wheels, and a gold mining machine that improved production and eliminated the need for water when removing gold ore in California.
Chuck Fuller is survived by his children Kathleen “Cas” Burleson, Julie (Bruce) Schwartz, and Michael “Mic” (Tena) Fuller, all of Sarasota. He is also survived by six grandchildren William “Hawk” (Christina) Holmes, Erin Rachael (Brian) Winzeler, Michael (Nikki) Smith, Autumn (Rob) Gogola, Heidi (Daniel) Derocher, Christian Fuller, and fourteen great grandchildren Ryan Lavender, Aiyana Lavender, Blake Johnson, Jade Holmes, Mackenzie Smith, Danika McDaniel, Isaac Winzeler, Jaxon Smith, Ethan Winzeler, Robert “Bo” Gogola, Colton Smith, Benjamin Winzeler, Ivy Derocher, Waylon Smith, and one soon to arrive, Emma Gogola, and two great-great grandchildren Darryan Lavender and Callen Lavender. He was preceded in death by his wife Leila (Dunlap) in 2006, his son Charles Lee “Chuckie” Fuller in 1967, his sisters Barbara Wright and Bernice “Bonnie” Truka, and brother Gale Fuller.
He was a member of Southside Baptist Church in Sarasota. A private service and internment were at Palms Memorial Park in Sarasota. Condolences may be sent to the family at 2283 Gold Oak Lane, Sarasota, FL 34232.
Chuck’s granddaughter Heidi said, “All I can think about is that Grandma and Grandpa are dancing together again in heaven. Their love is making heaven shine even brighter!” And with his delightful sense of humor, he is surely making the angels laugh as well! As he always said, “Old showmen never die, they just change lots.” Rest in peace.
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