Friday, November 17, 2023
There are those whose lives simply cannot be summed up within the outlines of an obituary. Charles Nelson Gilbert- “Uncle Charlie” -was one of those people. A family man he was. However, for me, I would like to break that down a little. My memories of him are: his flawless Donald Duck impersonation phone calls at Christmas (he was the real deal); the joy he brought to my soul every time he pulled up our driveway- from fall in the mud “karate kid” moves (all in a 3 piece suit and returning to his feet without breaking character); to sleepovers at his house and playing games with all of the neighborhood kids. Another particular memory was him lining us boys up at the Black Friday KMart stampede so that he could buy us new Texas Instrument home computers, and teach us how to write computer programs and learn to code. I remember driving to the store in his Datsun letting us use the garage door opener to see how many other peoples’ garages we could get to open along the way (there was always 1). Moreover, Uncle Charlie had a positive impact on my life bigger than he would ever know. He was an educator, an encourager, a role model, an advisor. Uncle Charlie will surely be missed but never forgotten. We will meet again, happy and healthy. Love Always, Your Nephew Tim.
