Charles Gillespie's Obituary
Our dad, Charles A. Gillespie, of Exline, Iowa, and formerly of Davenport, Iowa, went to be with the Lord on December 21, 2017. He was 82 years young. He went to be with our mom, Patricia Gillespie, who passed 14 years ago. He sure missed her. They were married for 48 years and blessed with 7 children. Chuck was born January 21, 1935, in Trenton, Tennessee to Roger and Opal Gillespie, their only child. Yeah, he loved fried food and biscuits and gravy, a good western movie... and his kids. He worked a lot of jobs over the years to take care of this brood, from Oscar Meyer to WG Block to Farm House Foods, managing a skating rink in Promise City and finally, Consolidated Freightways, where he retired as a truck driver. And a damn good truck driver. Over 1 million miles, No accidents. That's something to be proud of. Our dad was an honest man and a hard worker. And REALLY funny. He didn't try to be funny, he just was. Dad was a Navy veteran and served proudly in the Korean War, where he also did a bit of boxing. He said he used to eat fish eyes when he was in Korea. Must have had gravy on them. Chuck is survived by his 7 children: Chris (Edna) Gillespie, Exline, Iowa, Kim (Linda) Gillespie, Davenport, Iowa, Charles Keith (Diana) Gillespie, Exline, Iowa, Penny Sorenson, Kansas City, Missouri, Ricky (Rhonda) Gillespie, Davenport, Iowa, Holli (Kenny) Long, Milan, Illinois, and Phillip Gillespie, Kansas City, Missouri, as well as 20 grandchildren and 32 Great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Pat, his mother and father, his step mother and 2 grandsons. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December 27, 2017 at Thomas Funeral Home, Centerville, Iowa. Interment will immediately follow at Exline cemetary. A visitation will be held 1 hour prior to services, from 12:00-1:00 pm. Memorials may be made to The Estate of Charles A. Gillespie, and online condolences may be shared at thomasfh.com. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Charles Gillespie please visit our Sympathy Store. Cemetery Details Exline Cemetery Exline, IA 52555 Visitation DEC 27. 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (CST) Thomas Funeral Home-Centerville 501 North 18th StreetCenterville, IA 52544[emailprotected]http://www.thomasfh.com Funeral Service DEC 27. 1:00 PM (CST) Thomas Funeral Home-Centerville 501 North 18th StreetCenterville, IA 52544http://www.thomasfh.com
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