Birth date: Apr 13, 1942 Death date: Aug 29, 2022
Charles Wibert of Spring Lake left this world too soon. He was a man who simultaneously loved John Wayne movies and classic Russian literature; Johnny Cash music and Beethoven concertos; working as a cowhand on a Wyoming cattle ra Read Obituary
He was the best teacher I ever had in the 7 different schools I attended from Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin from K-12. Never forgot Mr. W and all the kindness and life lessons he gave us. He was my teacher at Central Elementary from 1975-1976.
I remember him showing us the Holocaust movies and we had to get parental notes to watch them. It was shocking and enlightening to the evil in the world. He assured us goodness conquers evil. We took several field trips, one to a local park by walking there. The other was going to Holland for the tulips in May 1976. My Mom was in the hospital in Muskegon and Mr. W. sat with me on the school bus asking how I was and how I was dealing with her being sick. He cared so much for all of us kids.
We had wonderful pizza parties on Fridays, and he taught us that being kind to people makes the world better. I still can see his brown cowboy boots, and leisure suits and collars, and that old brown Ford LTD he came to my house in for parent/teacher conferences. Taught us that to get hair on our chests, we need to drink buttermilk. And to get air into the room, you have to open a "windoo".
I loved his sense of humor and later in life, being on Facebook with him and sharing things, including church liturgy and hymnody. So glad I could have lunch with he and Betty in 2012 after I had just moved home to Green Bay, WI from Denver, Colorado, and had taken care of and buried both of my parents in their final years the year before. He was still the same Mr. W. I always loved and who had made a dent on me growing up. I cherished my friendship with him. It was hard for me and several of his other former students to learn his health was failing and then he passed away in hospice in peace, as he wanted. Lots of tears last week.
Big hugs and much love to his surviving family. It will be hard without that dynamo in our lives. I am so blessed to have known him and had him as a friend.
I will always remember, in younger years, Chuck & his brother, Fred sharing jokes. All I heard were a few words of each joke before they both dissolved into hysterical laughter, then sister Norma would cackle & sister Ila would giggle. Their daddy taught them well, the beauty and comfort of laughter. Cindy Postma, niece
