Charles B. Haskins Sr.

Charles 'Charlie' Bernard Haskins, Sr. was born August 21, 1932, in West Hamlin, West Virginia to Mable Shelton Haskins and Joseph Otho Haskins. He had 4 older sisters: Charlene, Wanda, Donna and Joanne.

After graduating from Huntington High School, he attended Alderson Broaddus University.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950.

While in the Army, he met and fell in love with Lt. Mildred Bailey in Tokyo, Japan.

They married in 1954 and by 1959 they were living in Huntington, West Virginia and had 4 children: Jane, Carol (deceased), Charles Jr., Charlene. Charlie worked as an electrician and Mildred worked as a nurse.

In 1961 they moved west to be close to Charles' family.

Charles went to work at a few electrical companies before finding Mitchell Electric, owned by Mitchell Droz. Charlie eventually became part owner.

While working, he had plenty of time to sing in the church choir, participated in Masons and received his 32nd degree, work with Indian Guides with his son, coach baseball and help build a community baseball Diamond for little league teams. He also supported Job's Daughters, a Masonic organization, which all three of this daughters were members.

He was excited when the Phoenix Suns basketball team was formed. Charlie, with the electric company, became original Phoenix Suns season ticket holders. He loved basketball and 'his' beloved Suns.

In 1989 he left Mitchell Electric and started Haskins Electric. The business had the same colors of the Suns...yes, purple and orange.

Charlie also loved horses. In 1968, he bought a quarter horse for the family to enjoy. That soon became a family activity as many other horses became 'family members'! He loved riding and hunting, and camping! After several years, Charlie got interested in Thoroughbreds. He had many racehorses over the years and still owned one until his death.

Another love of Charlie's was traveling. He and Mildred went around the world several times. They visited many countries, sometimes with his sisters and their husbands.

He loved boats too! And the beloved Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. He, Mildred and his sister Joanne and husband Webster spent 5 months on a boat cruising these rivers.

In 1998 he bought a farm in Hartville, Missouri. They raised cattle and grew hay. They kept that farm for about 10 years.

He loved genealogy. He traveled to Wales and England, the home of his ancestors. Online he found some cousins and visited them from Ohio.

He loved people and the stories they would share. He also loved poetry. He could recite many...long...poems. Even in his assisted living facility, he recited poems for others to enjoy and love. He also wrote poems. Mostly about cowboys and the cowboy lifestyle.

Contributions in Charles' memory may be made to Hospice of the Valley, https://www.hov.org/.