A FRIEND’S REMEMBRANCE OF CHARLES R. OGG:
Charles Ogg lived a very unique life. He entered this earth on 5/19/54 and passed into Heaven on 4/13/21. He attended Putnam City High School and was well liked by his peers, especially it seemed by the females who knew him because not only was he good looking, he was always kind, polite and a gentleman to any female in need. It wasn’t until 2016 when Charles attended my father’s attorney’s funeral with me that I witnessed how well-liked and remembered he was by one of our fellow male PCHS classmates who attended the funeral who happily remembered Charles. Over time, running into different males that we attended school with, I was amazed how each one came up to Charles and seemed very much taken with him. I say amazed in that how can a guy who that many girls really liked be so well-liked by all the guys he went to school with? That was the gift of Charles…kind and polite to so many.
Unless you got crossways with him during his “bouncer” or “bodyguard days” then that was a different matter.  Especially if you were disrespectful to a woman or anyone Charles was protecting. I know few men who have a more protective streak in them than Charles. It was just how he was built mentally.

I will never forget going to Butterfield’s with my ex and running in to Charles fresh out of the Marine Corps from Viet Nam. I remember asking, “What happened to your hair!?” He had always had long, beautiful hair in High School, and it was absolutely all gone down to the Marine Corps buzz cut. He looked the quintessential Marine through and through, but he was still the smiling and friendly Charles from high school. This was a man who was hot-wired to be a Marine…hot-wired to protect our country…patriotic and “bad to the ‘Ooooh-rah’ bone”. I worked with him to get confirmation of his missing medals from his service, and it was an honor to see his distinction. Few know it, but Charles served in the “Top Secret” 4th Marines Operation “Frequent Wind” conducted in Viet Nam during 4/22/75 to 4/29/75. During this Operation, Charles was inserted into Saigon as a member of an advance element of the Ground Security Forces assigned as a radio operator in support of the evacuation of American citizens and thousands of civilians from a hostile environment. In addition to his communications duty, Charles also assisted in wiring and emplacing destructive devices in selected sensitive areas in the successful processing of evacuees the day before Saigon fell. This Operation was the last of the Viet Nam war, and Charles was one of the last Americans to leave Viet Nam and its war. Charles received a Marine Corps “Meritorious Mast” for his achievement and devotion during this Operation by General Alfred M. Gray, who was later to become the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps and retired as a 4 star General. Charles kept some really great company in the Marines and accomplished some notable achievements, not the least of returning home alive when so many he served with did not. There are many who are grateful that he did.

From high school to war to spirituality, Charles left for Viet Nam a little over one year out of high school on 12/25/73, served 2 years then returned home to Oklahoma. During his bout in the Marines, he spent time in Okinawa on training maneuvers and picked up dining with chop sticks. Every time we went to Dot Wo’s recently on Saturday nights after we did his billing, Charles always asked for and ate with chop sticks. And he was a pro.

Charles once asked why we never dated in high school. I told him because he smoked, I thought he was a “bad boy”. True to Charles’s sense of humor and self-deprecation, he said, “If I had known, I would have quit.” 
In spite of Charles’s dyslexia, he graduated from college, achieved 2 Masters Degrees, wrote a 250-page dissertation on Spiritual Warfare and was close to completing a Doctorate in Divinity. You see, somewhere along the line, Charles found God. It took his conversion to go from “wild child” to saved and transformed. His commitment was complete. Don’t get me wrong…Charles was still human and did what humans do…we make mistakes, get it wrong, and ask for forgiveness.  And God being God always forgives and gives us the chances to try and try again.
The other day, I asked Charles how many times he had read the Bible from beginning to end and he said 4. I think he was being modest since he had an office filled with bookcases and bookcases of Bibles, Study Bibles and books on Spiritual Warfare that he studied to achieve one of his Masters Degrees and his near Doctorate. It may be hard for those of us who went to PCHS together to see the Charles we knew riding his motorcycle being changed into a Bible reading, “God fearing and pleasing” man, but it’s the truth nonetheless. Makes me wonder if God has a motorcycle for Charles in Heaven so he can mix the two.

On a different note, Charles was also partially color blind, so when asked how he picked out his clothes each day, he said, “I let God pick.” Sometimes when Charles showed up, I wondered if God was color blind, too. Especially for a funeral we attended for his former boss who passed unexpectedly, I asked Charles, “Did God pick that tie? Because it doesn’t match a thing you have on.” He smiled and laughed his deep laugh, took it off and miraculously found another tie in the trunk of his car. It wasn’t a perfect match, but at least it was a little better.
The thing that was so prominent about Charles was his love and care for his patients. In his words, he cared for the “persistently mentally ill”. He believed that was his ministry to God to care for the patients that others were too afraid to treat. But they loved Charles with a vengeance because Charles bought them groceries, meals, and sometimes their prescriptions when they couldn’t. Recently I asked him about a $120 charge on his bank statement while doing his books. Turns out that one of his patients couldn’t afford her insulin so Charles said he bought it for her so she wouldn’t die. Late one night recently after dinner, one of his patients called because she couldn’t get the lid off her oxygen machine, and was afraid she would suffocate. Charles turned his truck around and drove to Edmond immediately to help her because he didn’t want her to be afraid or in peril. The stop only took about 3 minutes, but it was one of the countless impressive things he did for his many patients. It was because of his patients’ numerous calls to the office out of their concern for him that caused the “Wellness Check” that led to the discovery that Charles was gone from this world.

Charles left a great legacy of love, kindness, compassion, generosity and care. Quite simply Charles had a “Servant’s Heart” and a love of God which resulted in his love for God’s children. My mother read out of her Guidepost devotional on 4/17/21 a phrase which summed up Charles to a T. It was about Jesus, but the parallel with Charles was unbelievably striking.
“His public ministry was filled with outcasts, marginalized individuals and the
untouchables of society.”
Charles cared for the ones that others were afraid of or felt they couldn’t help. He never turned a patient away who truly needed his love or care.
For this and so many other things, Charles is today, and will remain so, unbelievably loved and missed.
Charles, you said you were very ill at the end, but now you are whole and healthy. No more suffering for you, precious friend. For that we are happy to know you are in Heaven with a God that you loved and served, catching up with your parents and the ones who went on before you, and checking out your new mansion. I have a feeling it has a waterfront view.

Charles lived with a Servant’s Heart and knew how to serve those in need. How he lived was with:
1)	Gratefulness for the opportunity to serve.
2)	A sweetness of spirit.
3)	A love that’s accepting for all that which used to be grounds for disapproval, but now no longer is.
4)	A compassion that knows no end for the other person’s plight or suffering.
5)	A compassion that knows no judgment, only understanding.
6)	A heart that looks for ways to serve even after the serving seems done.
7)	A Servant’s Heart doesn’t look for “the end of serving.” It only looks for “how can I serve you more?”
8)	A Servant’s Heart is committed 1st to God so it can stay committed no matter what is required to do each task “as unto God” even when it doesn’t want to.
9)	It requires a humility of Spirit…all ego is checked at the door.
10)	A Servant’s Heart is a happy heart…a cheerful encouraging heart that lifts the hearts of all it serves, and is very happy to do so.
11)	A Servant’s Heart knows that when God directs me, it’s never one-sided for me to serve others.
12)	Serving God and his children goes both ways, and always comes back to the place from where it started.
When Charles left your presence, his last parting words were “God be with you.” That phrase was his form of saying goodbye to those he knew and to those he just met. It was even on his voicemail message. He meant every word. 
And now we say to you, Charles, thanks for being here and “God be with you.” Dearest one, we will see you again soon. It couldn’t be soon enough.


Charles was the sweetest, kindest, most loving, selfless and giving man I've ever known. The loss of such a caring and loving gentleman during such difficult times is truly a loss for this world. I grieve with his family, friends and his patients...all that he cared for so deeply.  The real happiness is knowing that he is in a place where he often talked about looking forward to being...in Heaven. He had lots of questions for God and Jesus. Now he gets to ask.

Charles, loved you then. Love you still.

See you later,
Constance

Hello, I'm so sorry for your loss, everyone in the family, and all of his clients. ): I was a client of his for about 13 years and it's heartbreaking to know he's gone. 

May he rest in Peace, spending his new life in Heaven. 

And may everyone heal from this  in time. 

OBITUARY

Charlie Ogg

May 19, 1954 – April 13, 2021

Chapel Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens

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