Husbands, Charles Lloyd, 83, of Tampa passed away on July 17, 2019. He was born in Savannah, GA on March 3, 1936, and moved to Maryland and then to Winter Haven after World War II. Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Lloyd and Marian Husbands, his wife, Evelyn Anne Husbands, and his daughter, Cheryl Dawn Husbands. He is survived by: his sister, Jackie Hargis, of Fayetteville, NC; his daughters, Mary Alice Husbands (Matthew Shrader), Julie Anne Husbands, Patricia Suzanne Husbands DuBose (Donnie DuBose); and many cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as a host of friends.
Charles attended Winter Haven High School, where he was active in the band and the ROTC, but left school before his senior year to enroll early in college. He began his college career at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, where he participated in band and chorus, but transferred to the University of Florida in Gainesville to better complete his degree. While at the University of Florida he was active in the choral program, and even did some student conducting.
During his college years, Charles was also active as a leader on the Methodist Youth Leadership team and was working at the youth camp in Leesburg one weekend when he met Evelyn, who was there for a ladies’ meeting. He sang love songs to her over the camp loudspeaker, which somewhat embarrassed Evelyn but ultimately made a good impression – they wed in April of 1955 and enjoyed a long and happy marriage for 57 years, until her death in 2012.
In addition to his musical activities at UF, Charles was also involved in IEEE, and focused his studies in the area of communication electronics. He earned his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering in 1958. Even after his graduation, Charles remained a loyal Gator fan, and loved to watch Gator football and cheer for the “Boys of Old Florida”. He was a lifetime member of the UF Alumni Association.
After college, Charles went to work for Peninsular Telephone, (later GTE, still later, Verizon). He was a pioneer in the field of telephone traffic engineering, creating or helping to create numerous technologies which are still in use. He also excelled as a technical writer and instructor in the field, and had additional experience in transport and interconnect engineering, and even in budgeting. Charles was sought after both in this country and abroad, helping to design or improve telephone systems in Iran (pre-revolution), Venezuela, and Hungary, to name a few. In addition to a 38-year career with GTE, he also worked as a contractor all over the US. Charles loved to travel and enjoyed all these experiences. He also embraced a lifelong love of languages, learning Farsi, Spanish, and even some Magyar during his time overseas.
Charles loved engineering and science in general, but his three greatest loves were Jesus Christ, his family, and music. The son and grandson of organists and music teachers, Charles studied piano and voice from an early age, singing as a boy soprano until his voice changed and in adult choirs thereafter. (He once compiled a musical resume for himself and was able to trace a continuous line of choir membership spanning his entire adult life.) He had a beautiful bass voice, strong and pure, and was much in demand as a soloist. Charles served as a choir director at several churches, both in Florida and overseas. He was a choir member and section leader in over 20 churches across the country and around the world. In 1981, Charles and his family joined Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church in Tampa, and Lake Magdalene would remain his home church thereafter. Work and other commitments would call him elsewhere, but he would always return to Lake Magdalene, where he actively sang in the chancel choir and as a soloist up until his stroke in 2017. Whenever Charles was working in a new location, he would look for a church – typically finding a choir to sing in before he found a place to live. Such was his love for church singing.
Charles also regularly sang bass solos in works such as Handel’s Messiah, Elijah, Carmina Burana, Judas Maccabeus, and the Creation, among others. He sang in the Tampa Oratorio Singers for decades and participated in community choruses in other states and countries. He was thrilled to be chosen to sing as one of the few non-students in the Duke Chapel Choir at Duke University. Charles had countless musical accomplishments, but one of his most unusual was singing the national anthem at the second Tampa Bay Bandits’ game (USFL), at the old Tampa Stadium.
Charles was a lifelong Methodist, and actively participated in leadership on both the district and conference levels. He was also a 50-year member of Fellowship Masonic Lodge, and a member of the Scottish Rite and Egypt Shriners. But his favorite fraternal organization was the Eastern Star. He was a 50-year member of Mystic Chapter in Tampa, and served as Worthy Patron on numerous occasions, in addition to serving in other stations and committees.
One of the great joys of his life was the opportunity to share the Gospel. He sang at countless revivals and had a genuine ministry through his music. Charles knew that his redeemer lived and wanted to share the love of Christ with everyone. He was loving and accepting of others and strived to share the saving grace he had experienced. At the age of 77, Charles felt a call to join on a mission to India with dear friends of his. He traveled across the world and worked with the students at Achiever Academy in Mahabalipuram, India. He also, of course, sang on more than one occasion while in India, helping to lead in worship. While most people his age were enjoying their retirement, Charles dedicated himself to others. Whether it was helping children at a school in India or helping his own (adult) children with their various projects and emergencies, Charles was always ready to lend a hand, a trailer, or even just a listening ear.
Ever since his childhood, when a bout of Rheumatic Fever required him to be confined to bed for over a year, Charles had an appreciation for medical professionals and a strong faith in God’s ability to use doctors, nurses, and medical advances to heal. Even after a brain stem stroke in 2017 weakened his body, Charles had a strong desire to live. In early June, he began having trouble breathing, and was taken to the hospital with pneumonia. Ultimately, he would battle three different pneumonias in a row, which lead to kidney failure and other complications. He fought the good fight, and then went home to be with his Lord. His love, humor, music, and gentleness will be sorely missed by his friends and family, especially his daughters, to whom he devoted his final years.
On August 4th, at 2:00 PM, the family will receive visitors at Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church. The Funeral will follow, at 3:00 PM. Graveside burial services and Eastern Star services will be held Monday, August 5th at 10AM, at Myrtle Hill.
Memorials can be made to the music ministry of Lake Magdalene UMC, 2902 W. Fletcher Avenue, Tampa, FL.
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