With sorrow in our hearts and salty tears falling from our eyes, we begin to rebuild our lives without Charles Joseph Miller. His resonant voice has been replaced with the sound of silence.
Charlie or Chuck seemed a child of Mother Nature. He was a true outdoorsman and loved the water from the time he was a kid. Gina and Jay took Charlie and R-Jay to Disney World in Florida when they were six and ten years old. They traveled all that distance only to have the boys wanting to spend all their time in the hotel swimming pool.
Charlie saw the ocean for the first time when Pap and Betts took him to Ocean City, Maryland. He called it a “bathtub”. Once he tasted the briny water and spent hours building sandcastles, he was hooked. His future trips included rafting on the “Red Baron” with his brother R-Jay and cousins Jane and Jeff. Even being tossed from the raft into the rough waves brought him closer with nature. The sweet scent, fine mist, luscious waves and blue kaleidoscope colors that decorated the Atlantic Ocean never left his soul. Pap and Betts also took the boys on road trips to places like Washington, DC and Hagerstown. Friends of the boys were eventually added to the roster. They got to enjoy the scenery of their adventures, sitting in the back of an Oldsmobile station wagon, seat facing the traffic behind.
Eventually, Charlie became a boat owner, enjoying wakeboarding and wakesurfing on the lake
at Seneca and on the Ohio River. He could also be found kiteboarding at the Outer Banks accompanied by family and friends. Charlie was always first in the water. According to Pap, the same was true when he was a child. He would run to the water, donned in his life jacket, chewed up laces, and blue lips.
Charlie and R-Jay had the once in a lifetime opportunity to accompany their father Jay on a charter trip, casting, chumming, and trolling their way around the Atlantic.
Not to be outdone by summer adventures, the winter snow took him to Utah with his friends Brooks and Larry. A true snow bird, dressed in flannel and a hat with ear flaps, he greeted the bracing snow. The beauty he captured in photos and videos was serene, yet breathtaking, as something you might see in “National Geographic” magazine.
Charlie was truly an avid adventurer, eager to conquer any quest, welcoming risk with a hearty appetite sprinkled with gusto, zeal, and desire.
“Sir Charles”, as Pap called him, loved riding his “Marx Big Wheel” endlessly up and down Forest Avenue on any surface, concrete or asphalt. It made no difference. His love for anything two or three wheeled stayed with him and he eventually “graduated” to a Harley Davidson and mountain bikes. Now he was ready to conquer the roads, no matter rough terrain or just everyday living. He was always ready to ride. Pap felt a huge sense of pride when Charlie and R-Jay rolled up in front of the house dressed in leather, helmets and sunglasses to invite Pap for a ride. As the three of them fired up their bikes, they looked at each other proclaiming “It doesn’t get any better than this”. Pap will always treasure the memory of Charlie asking “Wanna go for a ride, Pap? Yes, Charlie, our adventurer, had the unquenchable thirst for the sporting life.
Charlie was also a bit of a nomad, having many residences, always taking with him one of his most prized possessions. His grandmother who raised him, along with Pap, made him a green ceramic Christmas tree laced with glistening snow. This little tree went everywhere Charlie went.
His mountain biking escapades would not be complete without bumps, bruises, scratches and scrapes. “Charlie, dude, you need to bail before you fall or stay off the berm. Clean the trail dude.” We laughed together, especially when he showed up to our house with road rash, searching for Epsom Salts and witch hazel. He lived for the souvenirs of mud, the earthly scent of the woods, and other remnants of the day that littered both his clothing and bike. Then, later the same day, he would call his Pap and ask “What’s for dinner?”
Charlie and his brother R-Jay enjoyed skate boarding rails and half pipes and they were both instrumental in the creation of the Bayne Park skateboard facility in Bellevue. Charlie had a sense of pride and found joy in demonstrating and teaching Caden skateboarding tricks. The innocence and apprehension of what you and your skateboard could accomplish was yet to be discovered by Caden.
Charlie was a “grillin’ & chillin”, lawn darts, corn hole, story-telling star at every picnic he attended. When he DJ’d, he scratched, spun, and danced to the music labeled as “Chuck Music” by his Pap. His love for music led him and his sister Bobbi along with his best friend Brooks to the “Lollapalooza” music festival for several years in Chicago.
No matter the job, Charlie possessed the grit and determination to finish. With his notebook, numerous lists of building supplies, and carpenter’s pencil in hand, he created his own masterpieces, missing no details. He was a true artisan and master of his craft.
Charlie was also a passionate man, never straying from the goals he set for himself. He had a colorful humor, soulful voice, and was a bit of an intellectual as well. Sherry’s sister Shelley loved Charlie’s infectious laugh, sense of style, and boundless energy. And Sherry’s mother, Cookie, always had delicious goodies for him, his favorites being buckeye cookies and stuffed cabbages.
Charlie’s zest for life was suddenly curtailed by the tragic loss of his older brother R-Jay, whom he idolized immensely. His heart broke on March 4, 2016, when he had to deliver the news in person to his Pap. During this time, he was lovingly embraced under the wings of his friends who nurtured and helped him to work through his grief. But there were times when it seemed that nothing would ever sooth his wounded soul.
Eventually, Charlie was able to embrace life again. He worried about Pap and they talked to each other more and more as time passed. They relived memories over dinner at our house or would sit on their bikes down by the shed, with the backdrop of Olive Branche watching over them.
On November 30, 2020, Charlie’s heart was broken again by the death of his father, Jay. Along with his step-mother Gina, to whom Jay was married to for more than 40 years, and sister, Roberta, they said their final goodbyes. The last words of Charlie’s father were “I’ll be seeing R-Jay later today.
In the following weeks, he spent more time at our house. He and Pap, leaned on each other for comfort. They embraced each other and they cried together. I believe that in Charlie’s final four years, he set out on a quest searching for something. The meaning of life, perhaps? He wasn’t certain what that “something” was that eluded him.
Was it ever found or did it remain hidden?
Charlie walked with Jesus and Pap dutifully reminded him to keep the “big man” on your side.
He was preceded in death by his father and friend, Regis (Jay) Miller, Jr. (November 30, 2020), brother Regis John Miller III (March 4, 2016), and his beloved grandmother, Betts, who instilled in Charlie his values, morals, and work ethic, shaping the man that he became.
Pap has many photos of life’s beautiful moments spent with Charlie. They range from the “towheads” on beach excursions to the men sitting proudly atop their bikes and everything in between. Never a day passes without their names being mentioned.
Charlie is survived by a plethora of friends whose loyalty and support through “all” times exceeded the bounds of friendship. They know who they are. We are grateful to you for being there for him every day and for what you meant to him.
Charlie lead through servanthood expressed by helping countless young men rebuild their lives. Many of these young men, now adults, have credited Charlie for contributing immensely to their growth and abundant lives today.
Charlie is also survived by his loving step-mother Gina, his “most fun sister”, Bobbi (Braden Lambros), Mrs. Sarah B., numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and a niece.
Lastly, but certainly not least is Joseph M. Schilling (Sherry) of Bellevue, who raised him along with Charlie’s grandmother Betts. “Yep yep!”
Charlie was the son of Gayle Downey.
Please share your stories, photos, videos and enjoy the numerous photos and stories provided by others at: www.charliemiller.life
A bike ride and celebration of life event will be held on May 15, 2021 in North Park and additional details can be found on the website mentioned.
