As a loving husband and dad, he will be greatly missed by his wife of 50 years, Jacqueline Whitmer; 4 children, Kim McGowen (Madonna), Tami McGowen (Peggy), Tim McGowen (Shelly), Tanya Kelley (Dennis); 5 grandchildren, who fondly called him "Pap", Ashley Berrow (Joe), Joshua McGowen, Caleb McGowen, Peyton House, Jacob House; and his first great-grandchild, Josie Berrow; 2 loving sisters, Margie Stuart, Barbara Wooden; numerous in-laws and nieces and nephews, too many to mention, which means he was blessed with a loving extended family.
Chuck was preceded in death by his parents, Leslie and Nellie Whitmer; and 2 brothers, Shelby and Hobert Whitmer.
Chuck was an Army Veteran stationed in Alaska. He later worked for Barber Colman as an electrician for 40 years and during that time he also volunteered as a firefighter with the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire District for 5 years. Chuck loved his church family from Highland Park First Baptist. He served as deacon for many years and later as a Deacon Emeritus. Using his gifted electrical skills, he helped with building the church when it moved to its present location in J-Town. As a dad, he was there for every basketball and softball game; every school and church program; and every gospel music concert that his children and grandchildren were involved in. As a family, we enjoyed weekend camping trips, where every morning he would holler..."everybody out in the street!" There were convoyed vacations with our extended family, with CB's in every car...and dad's infamous CB handle...Road Apple! And he would always remind us that the only toy he ever grew up with was a Doot-Da-Doot. We have so many great stories we call "Chuckisms"; stories he told, songs he sang...so many that we had to write a book to remember them all. He made us laugh more times than we could count - something that we will cherish forever. One thing our family knows for sure - our lives were changed for the better because he was a part of us. Yes, he most certainly was one of the greatest men we ever knew.
The Funeral Service will be Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 2pm at Evergreen Funeral Home with visitation on Monday from 1pm until 8pm and Tuesday from 10am until the time of service at the funeral home. Expressions of sympathy should be directed to Hosparus of Louisville in Chuck's honor. Please visit www.Evergreen-Louisville.com to share condolences with Chuck's family.
