Charles Meacham 1947-June 19, 2010
Charles ‘Chuck’ Ellis Meacham, 87, was born in Carbondale, Illinois and passed away June 19, 2010 at his home in Tucson, Arizona with his loving wife and family at his bedside. He is survived by Frankie, his wife of 63 years; his son, Chuck, and wife Marlys of Tucson, Arizona; sister, Ludene Cutrell of Cobden, Illinois, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Chuck was preceded in his death by his mother and father, Howard and Edna; brothers, Howard ‘Leon’, Eugene, Earl and Preston, and sister, Lorene.
Chuck was proud to serve his country as seaman first class in the U.S. Navy in the Philippines and Australia. While serving on the battleship USS Artemis, Chuck had advanced to the boxing finals in his weight class but, due to a hurricane at sea, he broke his leg and was unable to box in the finals. After his honorable discharge, he worked in the steel mills in northern Illinois before joining Continental Telephone Company where he worked until his retirement. He then worked with his son, Chuck, at his taxidermy business as he affectionately became known as ‘Pappy’ by clients and friends.
His son, Chuck, recalls that in his teenage years his dad was active in the community and that his dad was the motivating force in all his sports activities, never missing a game or event. He was a great father and during one memorable summer he remembers his dad introducing him at an early age to baseball. Win or lose, his dad always took all the team for milk shakes after the game. Another favorite pastime was fishing. After work he could usually be found at the lake or at a secluded pond with one rod set for catfish while he worked another one for big bluegill and bass. On one of his many fishing excursions to Lake Wisconsin, he caught a 20-pound catfish on a six-pound test line — a 45-minute battle. The next day he caught a 34-pound snapping turtle. Those were the good old days.
Chuck recalls another memorable event when several of his friends were fortunate enough to canoe a 40-mile stretch of the Raccoon River with his dad and Ralph Long. When you hear the expression ‘he’d give the shirt off his back,’ they were talking about his dad. He got along with everybody. He was a great guy.
By his request, Chuck was cremated and services will be held at a later date.
Condolences may be sent to Frankie Meacham, 7301 N. Camino de la Tierra, Tucson, AZ 85741.
