Obituary of Charles D. Greenlaw

Charles Delmar Greenlaw Charles Delmar Greenlaw of Bayside was born in St. Andrews to Frank Howard Greenlaw and Ethel Saluda Holt on July 2, 1931, and passed away at Charlotte County Hospital on December 4,2016. He was preceded in death by his parents, and all of his siblings: Edith “Todd” Turney (Harrison), George “Ward” Greenlaw (Gwyneth), Adeline McDonald (Warren), Madalene Perry (Gordon), DeEtta Smith (Albert), Bertha Greenlaw, John Greenlaw (Mary Jane), Edmund “Cliff” Greenlaw (Joyce), Ruby Greenlaw, and Alberta Chambers (Douglas). He was also preceded in death by his beloved wife of 45 years, Jeanne Larson, a California native, and revered mother of their four daughters. Rita Greenlaw of Bayside was his companion for 10 years before her death. He is survived by his very good friend Barb Clark, and his four daughters Susie Cease (Bill), Lois Ege, Lisa Houston (Marc), Sheila Fink (Carl), grandchildren (Nolan, Arianne, Cody, Lindsay and Serafiina), great grandchildren (Jasmine, Parker and Eric). He is survived by many nieces and nephews, with special thanks to the Squarebriggs and Proctor families of Sussex who provided regular support and companionship. Charlie (who some knew by his middle name, “Dem”), grew up in St. Andrews. After his mother’s death, he spent his teen years with his sister Alberta and her family, embedding a love of family and rural life that lasted a lifetime. He moved to New York to spend his senior year with his sister DeEtta and her family, after which he joined the U.S. Army and became a paratrooper. After his time in the service, he moved to California and established a trucking business with his brother Cliff. He married Jeanne, and in addition to starting a family, they opened a new and used car sales in Ferndale. In the early 1960s, they moved to Rogue River, Oregon, where they lived for nearly 30 years. Charlie worked in heavy construction on a variety of road and dam construction projects, as a proud member of the Local 701 Operating Engineers Union. During this time they raised four daughters and operated a farm which was home to a wide variety of plants and animals (including both dairy and beef cattle, pigs, sheep, rabbit, chickens, cats, dogs and a goat). The bounty from their large garden and fruit from their trees was converted into hundreds of quarts of canned goods every year. Food was always a centerpiece in Charlie’s household, including Northwest favorites like venison and salmon, and many, many kinds of fruit pie. The farm included a two-man sawmill which was the source of many woodworking and construction projects from locally sourced timber. They lived in Bridgeville, California for about five years (Jeanne’s family homestead), as they began the transition to life back in Canada. They built a home on Bayside with a beautiful view of the St. Croix River where they enjoyed retirement. They made and renewed many friendships over cards, at dances, and a variety of senior activities. Charlie took on leadership positions with a variety of groups, with ample opportunities to share his colorful stories and jokes. Charlie loved many things, including: his family, the communities he was a part of, tools and building things, food, music, and most of all, dancing. His favorite songs were “Sentimental Journey” and “The Tennessee Waltz”--he wouldn’t let a dance go by without requesting (er, demanding) these songs. And if than band tried to skip a verse, they heard about it! He would be honored if others would enjoy one last waltz in his memory. We look forward to hearing your memories of our Dad, to help us fill in the dash—the many things that happened between 1931 … 2016. To celebrate his life friends will gather at the Bayside Community Hall on Saturday, December 10th, 2016 at 11:00 am, followed by a reception, some music and perhaps even some dancing by Charlies' request. The interment will take place at a later date in St. Andrews Rural Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations to the Bayside Community Hall, The Royal Canadian Legion or to the Charlotte County Hospital Foundation would be really appreciated by the family.