CHARLES MELVIN WIMSATT

November 18, 2019

COLUMBUS, Kan.- Services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Lake Cemetery in Lamar, Mo. for Charles “Charlie” Melvin Wimsatt, 85, who died peacefully on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, at Medicalodge Nursing Home in Columbus, after a long battle with Parkinson’s and congestive heart failure.

Arrangements are under the direction of Konantz Warden Funeral Home, Lamar, Mo.

The obituary may be viewed and condolences sent online at www.konantzwarden.com.

Survivors include his children, Charles Alan Wimsatt and wife Carol, Kevin L. Wimsatt, Kimberly D. Baake and husband Rob and Brenda S. King and husband Marvin; 12 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild and many nieces, nephews and lifelong friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Arlene (Mayfield) Wimsatt; his daughter, Pamela Deanne Wimsatt; a daughter-in-law, Venice Marie Wimsatt; his brother, James Henry Wimsatt; an infant grandson; an infant great-grandson and his best friend, Delbert Morris Johnson.

Mr. Wimsatt was born July 10, 1934, in Scotland, Ark., to Charles Elmer Wimsatt and Minnie Ann (Lowrance-Wimsatt) Porter. He and his brother were reared on a small farm in Dade County, Mo. Melvin, as they called him by his middle name, attended a two-room schoolhouse in Pennsboro, Mo. If you drive along K Hwy., just east of Pennsboro, you’ll see this all brick school still standing. He graduated from Golden City High School in 1952. As a young boy and through his teen years his father taught him the art of being a lumberjack and they worked side by side cutting timber. They would use their two draft horses, Rolly and Lady, to haul the timber and plow their fields.

At the age of 19 he met his sweetheart, Arlene Mayfield on the square in Lamar. After a brief courtship they were married on Oct. 24, 1953 and their love story began. Melvin moved his bride to Wichita, Kan., where they lived for several years while he worked for an insurance company and then Boeing Airlines, building airplanes for the military. They had three children while in Wichita, though one sadly passed as an infant. In 1959, they moved to Springfield, Mo. with two young boys and a child on the way. He landed a job at Hertz Rent-a-Car and became shop foreman. His boss called him “Charlie” and this became the name that most people in his adult life knew him by. By 1961 he and his bride had four children, two boys and two girls. He worked for Hertz for 27 years until he suffered a shoulder injury and took some time off. In the late 1980’s he went to work for Pinegar Chevrolet in Republic, Mo. as the new car detail shop manager. He was with Pinegar for 10 years. His bride, Arlene, worked at McDonald’s in Republic and you could often look out into the dining room and see the two of them sitting together, enjoying lunch.

After both retired in the late 90’s, they moved to Lamar, Mo. Shortly after, they came out of retirement and went to work for OATS as bus drivers for a workshop in Lamar. He worked this for 10 years. In 2011, they moved to Galena, to live with their daughter, Brenda, due to Arlene’s health. After Arlene died in 2013, due to complications from Alzheimer’s, Charlie remained living in Galena until his health severely declined. He was placed in nursing care at Medicalodge in Columbus in January of 2019.

He and his wife enjoyed a love affair that spanned six decades. Their life was full of fun, friendships, faith and family. They made many lifelong friends along the way, some that preceded them in death and those that remain feel the loss of this great couple. He enjoyed weekends camping at the creek or lake with his family and friends, working on cars and his favorite sport was bowling. He bowled on men’s and mixed leagues until his shoulder injury. If you ask his children to give you a few words about their father, they would say he was one of the most loyal, honest and steadfast pillars of a man. He cherished his wife and honored their vows exactly as God intended, lovingly caring for her until her death. He was a strong provider for the family and gave each of his kids and grandkids the most unconditional love a child could want.