Charles Eugene Severt

Charles Eugene Severt, known as Charlie, Uncle Charlie, or Chuck by family & friends, passed away on February 23, 2025, while residing in Gold Canyon, Arizona. 

Charlie was born on August 27th, 1941, and grew up on a farm in Montezuma, Ohio, where he learned the value of hard work. After graduating from Coldwater High School, he joined the Air Force, and during his service, he worked in communications, learned how to repair electronics, and worked on some of the first computers. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Jane "Janie" (Dues), while in the Air Force, and they started their family while living in Atwater, California. His training and experience in the Air Force prepared him well for his job at Xerox, servicing copiers and selling computers. After retiring, he worked for an airline company and discovered that he enjoyed traveling. He also spent time working at Lowe's sharing his vast knowledge as a man who could find a way to fix just about anything. Chuck was always busy, yet he found time to build a garden train yard while living in Clintonville, Ohio which amazed all who saw it. His grandchildren loved it most of all. He enjoyed camping and traveling so much that one day he sold everything and became a full-time RV’er and worked as a camp host along the coast of California. One campground job brought him to Arizona where he met his partner, Grace Cooney. They enjoyed many years together dancing, jeepin, and sharing life. He built a new garden train yard in Gold Canyon Arizona. 

Chuck is survived by his partner, Grace Cooney, and children Kevin (Lynne) Severt, Lori Severt (Bill), and Julie (Ganesh) Ghooray, as well as his sister Irene (Severt) Odoski. He cultivated close relationships with each of his grandchildren, Kala, Jordyn (Gregg), Brady (Lindsay), Shana (Layke), Nalin, and Josie as well as a special relationship with Lingtao Ge “William” (Rebecca) as he is a part of the Ghooray family. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews who loved their Uncle Charlie. 

He is preceded in death by his firstborn child, Mary, as well as his parents, Henry and Frances (Hemmelgarn) Severt, and his siblings Norman (Mary Ann) Severt, Evelyn (Wally) Braun, and Jane (Severt) Bertke. 

Chuck was very social and loved the outdoors, whether he was gardening, camping, instigating a water fight, or building a garden railroad complete with replicas of homes of those he loved. This train yard brought tremendous joy to him, his children, his grandchildren, and everyone who visited. Chuck cared about everyone he met and would be sincerely interested in their lives, and he knew no stranger and always had a smile to share. Chuck enjoyed life to the fullest and was always trying to make it better for his many friends, lending a hand whenever and wherever he could. His light will remain to live on in the many lives he touched and the treasured memories created with his family and friends. Every handful of peanut M&M's and ice cream runs will always make us think of this special man.