Ce qu'il reste de la forteresse volante après s'être écrasée au sol prés de la maison BAUDRY à Incarville France

Grandpa’s house was always where the family gathered, and it didn’t matter how long it had been since the last visit, Grandpa always made it feel like home. It was a place of laughter, love, learning and growing. He taught us all many lessons. Some lessons were taught with intention, but some of the most valuable ones were the lessons we learned by his example. I have learned so much from him that I hope to pass on- like his desire to live each day with purpose, to help others and be a blessing, his ability to teach a child with patience and genuine interest, and his way of engaging people in his stories. Grandpa’s life reached further than we could measure because he lived such a long life so selflessly. He answered the phone with a joyful “yellow”, and shared his joy with all. I will always remember his toothpick grin and his smiling eyes, the way his voice sounded when he said “hey Eryn”!, like he was always glad to talk, the way he chuckled when he said something funny, and the way he loved to make others laugh. He always saw the bright side, and he thanked God for his blessings. He told me about miracles and the importance of family. Lastly, he taught me that a life spent loving others is a life that doesn’t end. I am grateful to carry him with me and I strive to pass him on to my children by the lessons he taught.
 I miss you, Grandpa

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What do you say about the man who instantly loves your future husband the first time he meets him, because he sees a lot of himself in him and knows that you will be taken well care of and loved fully?  What do you say about the man who cries every time you have to leave after an out-of-town visit?  What do you say about the man who read the Bible every night with his wife?  What do you say about the man who makes it very clear that he does not need your help while recovering from major surgery at age 96, but rather tries to take care of you?

My Daddy was such a great man.  The love he gave us all was with his whole heart, unconditionally.  Daddy has been preparing us for this moment for a long time.  He made sure that we all knew that he was ready and looking forward to going home to be with the Lord.  Because of this, I am very at peace with his passing and hope that all of your memories of Daddy can be of great comfort to you.  Please let this be a time of celebration of Daddy's life and all that he gave each of us.  Of course, we will grieve, but I wish for each of you that each memory of Daddy brings a smile to you face.

I was trying to come up with something to say about Daddy, but what do you say about the man who was not only your hero, but the man who raised you and is such a big part of who you are and why you are.  What do you say about the man on who's lap you sat or laid every Sunday at church and always made sure he had mints or gum in his pocket for you, because he knew you were going to ask.  What do you say about the man who came up with a better conconction for your 4th grade salt map assignment that was much easier to paint and didn't crack and fall apart.  (I wonder if Mrs. Fraiser still has Dana's, David's and my "salt" maps?).  What do you say about the man who took such good care of your Momma when she was sick and then took over her role when she passed?  What do you say about the man who taught you not to stand there with the refrigerator door open, to turn off the lights when you leave a room, and don't forget to turn off the heater in the bathroom.  (He finally disconnected that heater).  What do you say about the man who gave you a special necklace when you were going to your first school dance?  What do you say about the man who let you drive to Popeye's to pick up Sunday chicken before you had your driver's license.  What do you say about the man who loves your children unconditionally with his whole heart?  My girls did not gete to spend as much time with Daddy as some of his other grandchildren, but he still had a great influence on their lives not only because of the time they spent with him, but also because of the influence he had on me and the way I raised them.  What do you say about the man who was always there for you when had a problem or just needed someone to talk to and was always very supportive, but very willing to tell you the truth even when its not what you wanted to hear? 

cont'd

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The day I married Kim was truly the greatest blessing I had ever known.  Getting to know and being accepted as a member of the family I soon realized that this blessing a package deal, and the greatest blessing of my life.

Charles was my hero and the man I maost admired in this world.  I know he is where he belongs.  His memory will forever fill my heart, I will truly miss him.

I love you Charles.

Charles Sturgeon was an amazing man who lived an amazing life.  Most of us know his story and his time spent serving his country during WWII.  We know of the many combat missions he flew over occupied France and Germany and the fact that he experienced a true miracle when his aircraft was shot down.  We also know that he spent the remainder of the war as a German POW and as a result of injuries he received his Purple Heart.   This part of his life in itself is amazing and certainly worthy of a Hollywood movie and if we stopped here and allowed this to define his life it would be more life than most would ever live. This is not however what defined him.

  He was a man of many talents.  He was a Millwright by trade, an engineer, sometimes out of necessity an elecvtrician and a mechanic and unike most with multiple skills he was very good at all of these things.  I would bet that most in this room were benefactors of his skills at one time or another, some multiple times.  He found great joy in helping people and his kindness touched countless lives, but this did not define him.

  It was his faith in God that filled his heart with love and gave him his unique perspective of life, love, compassion, forgiveness and his unwavering principles. When Charles loved it was total and unconditional and when he forgave it was complete. His faith in God is what defined him. He knew that it's only through God that all things are possible.

  I remember him telling me about Adelle and his last days with her.  I could see and feel the love that filled his heart years after she was called home and I witnessed first hand his heart breaking the day the Lord called Theresa home. It was the love of his family that gave his life meaning and it showed in everything he did. There is no one in his immediate or extended family that wasn't blessed by his kindness and generosity, most of us many times over.

cont'd

If my Dad saw me up here crying right now, he would probably tell me to stop it or he will give me something to cry about - and boy would he!

My Dad taught me just about everything I know.  Being the only son of a man who was a mechanical expert had its advantages.  Dad taught me how to work on cars, how to build things, how to repair things, and how to help others when they needed something fixed.  My Dad passed on his work ethic to me, and that will benefit me for the rest of my life.

My Dad also taught me how to be a good brother to my four sisters.  He also let me know when I wasn't being a good brother.  BOY DID HE LET ME KNOW!

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I learned how to be a loving husband from my Dad.   When my Mom was battling cancer, when he wasn't working, he was by her side taking care of her.  When Mom was in the hospital, Dad stayed with her and always made that she was getting the best care possible.  One night when Dad was at the hospital, a nurse came in to change Mom's colostomy bag.  Dad told the nurse that she wasn't doing it right.  It upset the nurse, and she went and got the head nurse.  My Dad showed the head nurse how to properly change Mom's colotomy bag.  The head nurse asked Dad if she could bring all of the floor nurses in and have him show them how to change a colostomy bag, because none of them knew how to do it.  Of course, he said yes.  When Mom was able to come home, he made sure that she had everything she needed to be as comfortable as possible.  All the while still working, and taking care of his kids.

My Dad taught me how to be a good father.  He loved his kids very much and would do anything for us.  He never failed to find a teaching moment in everything he did for us.

I learned from the best how to be a good grandfather.  my Dad's grandchildren meant the world to him.  He was happiest when he was playing with them, teaching them, helping them with school projects or just watching them play.  He was closet to all of his grandchildren.

Through all of his stories, his actions, his teaching moments, and the way he lived his life, my Dad showed me how much he loved God, his country, and his family.  He is my hero.  I will carry everything he taught me with me for the rest of my life.  It has made me the man that I am today.  Your legacy will live on through all of us.  

Thank you Dad.  I love you!

Drawings done by Katie Kaye for some family members

How lucky are we? To have had someone in our lives, and for so long, that it’s so hard to say goodbye to? Charles corky daddy dad grandpa pa. No matter what you knew him as, to know him was to love him. 

We have all been talking a lot this past week about the lessons we learned from grandpa throughout our lives. He taught us to be respectful and respectable, to be honest and gracious, and to always put family first. Some lessons were serious, about parenting, money, work, relationships, forgiveness. Some were practical lessons in math, or how to fix just about anything. Some were as simple as how to play cryptogram, which I would studiously practice with him after reading the comics at the foot of his bed. There isn’t time to talk about all of the lessons he’s taught us, so I want to take this time to talk about the lessons I’ve learned from him on this trip. 

Something else we’ve done this trip is tell a lot of stories. And while there have been one or two war stories, in my favorite young Charles returns to camp with a gun and a bike, there were far more tales of what grandpa did with us, and for us. Of grandpa always showing up. For anyone, anytime, any place. Of grandpa showing endless generosity. Grandpa has fixed our cars and our homes, and sometimes paid for them. He’s forgiven most of us for something and done it wholly and without looking back. He’s opened up his home to us. Some of us were married there, many of us have lived there (myself, a couple of ducks, a dog named odie, and our very own angel named Gene included), most of us have spent holidays there, wondering if we’d ever make it to the adult table, and we’ve all made memories there. While we will always cherish the war stories and listening to him tell them, these are the stories we tell.  So my first lesson on this trip, is that he may have been a war hero, but that’s not why he was our hero.

Krista cont. 

On this trip I have been able to spend a lot of time with family, and specifically with my mom, Sherri, sandy, and David together. I realized that the more time I spent with the four of them, the less sad I felt. Because not only was I surrounded by stories of grandpa and a shared love and respect for grandpa, but I was surrounded by grandpa. His love, his humor, at times his hearing trouble, his bluntness, his good hugs, his smile, his generosity, and even his ability to marry well. My second lesson is that grandpa is still with us, he is alive in all of us, but especially in the four of you. 

And finally, a confession of sorts. I always thought I was special for having my grandfathers love and how much I knew I had of it. He made me feel so loved, that I just knew he must be giving me a little extra. But this trip made me realize that wasn’t true. Listening to all of you and your stories made me realize that he gave his love wholly and freely to all of us. That he somehow always had more love to give, that he made us all feel this way. My final lesson from this trip: I’ve always known that to know my grandfather was to love him, but I know now that to know him was to be loved.

It was always lots of fun at Grandpa's house!

So grateful that my girls got a chance to spend time with you. They are luckier than they know.

While I was driving Grandma (Sandy) around. We went to Pa’s. Considering that we had a few appointments at the V.A. When he found out that I was going to drive him there, he had said “Well, I’m going to take the other car, and drive myself!”Which, Grandma (Sandy) telling him, “You can’t even see enough to drive! And you don’t even have a drivers license!” 
        He then said, “Well I’m not going to go. Forget it! “So from then on Grandma (Sandy) drove him around ever since, that day. - Ashlyn Roberts

Daddy has just finished up a job and secured a new job in Oklahoma, but hadn't yet found a place to live. So, momma and daddy found a small apartment for rent. They were going to tour the apartment and talk with the owner. Before going inside, daddy turned to Sherri and Sandy and said, “make sure not to say anything about the kittens!” 

The owner decided that she could not rent to us, so the three of them headed outside. As they approached our car, Sandy rolled down the window and enthusiastically said, “Look! We have kittens!” 

It turns out the owner was a cat lover. Once she saw those kittens, not only did she decide that she could rent to us, but moved into the apartment herself so that we and the kittens could live in the big house. Daddy decided not to be mad at me (Sandy).

Taken on October 2, 2023. 

I’m so proud to say I have a family connection to Charles’ brand of American royalty. 

I see his strength every day in my wife, his granddaughter Krista. She and I will keep him close as we raise our two girls. 

Thank you, sir. For your service, your family, and for the example.

Thank you Rhonda for taking such good care of Daddy

Thank you all for taking such good care of Daddy throughout the years!

The staff at the VA throwing Daddy a surprise birthday party.

This is a memory that my daughter will carry with her for her whole life. The time her Grandpa didn't want her to be embarrassed about her two front teeth missing so he showed her that he was missing one too.

We were honored to be part of Mr. Sturgeon's care team. Amarillo VA, primary care team Glory was able to celebrate the very important milestone of 100 years with this incredible man. 
Thank you for your stories of war and triumph as well as the laughs you shared with us. You shared so many  life lessons in your own unique way, always filled with humor and humility. It has truly been an honor to serve you, sir.

OBITUARY

Charles Franklin Sturgeon

September 25, 1923 – November 13, 2023

Memorial Park Funeral Home & Memorial Park Cemetery

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