Charles William "Charlie" Smith's Obituary
Charles William “Charlie” Smith, age 62, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 10, 2023, at The Leila & Cyrus Poppen Residence. He was born July 30, 1961, in Chicago, IL, to Willard and Virgene (Miller) Smith. Charlie graduated from Cary-Grove High School in Cary, IL, in 1979 and worked for the family business, W. Smith Cartage Company, as a truck driver and dispatcher for over 40 years. On September 15, 1990, he married Gale Nelson, and they were preparing to celebrate 33 years together.
In 2017 after retiring from the family business, Charlie and Gale realized their dream of moving to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and took a leap of faith with son Scott and bought Duneland Off-Road Center in 2017. Charlie loved working with his “Duneland family” and cherished the relationships he created with the wonderful staff and the many customers and vendors. He was a SLRA (Silver Lake Recreation Assoc) Board Member and passionate about promoting the local area. Heroes on the Dunes was a favorite weekend and he loved bringing his brother Tom to town to spend time with him and other Veterans. What he loved most though, was spending time with his grandchildren.
Charlie’s great sense of humor, dedicated work ethic and zest for life will be deeply missed by his wife, Gale; son, Scott (Racheal) Carlson; grandchildren, Gavin Carlson, Logan Dean and Alex Blohm; brothers, Tom Smith, Jim (Betty) Smith and Steve Smith; sisters, Susan (Gary) Lindsley, Sharon Ormsby, Mariann (Greg) Hoeft-Werderitch and twin sister, Patty (Bill) Downey. He was preceded in death by his parents.
A PRIVATE MEMORIAL SERVICE was held by the family. A CELEBRATION OF LIFE will be held at Duneland Off-Road Center on Sunday, October 8 from 12pm to 3pm. MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS may be directed to The Leila & Cyrus Poppen Residence or Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Sytsema Chapel of Sytsema Funeral & Cremation Services (737 E. Apple Ave., Muskegon, MI 49442) is honored to be serving the Carlson/Smith family. To share special memories with the family, please visit http://www.sytsemafh.com.
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