Charles Edward Brill was his mama’s baby for almost 54 years. Moreover, he was a loved and loving husband for almost 32 years and an adored and adoring father for almost 31 years. His seven children knew him as a stern, reliable, droll, and often doting father and grandfather. They knew he could be counted on for help in any case from fixing their car to consoling their missteps. He changed diapers and arranged for their employment. Chuck lived within an hour of his parents all his life except for the semester at Southeast Missouri State University, his army service at Fort Benning Georgia, his 4 years at University of Kansas in Lawrence after his wedding to Christina and the two years that they lived in Ocala before his mother, and I followed him and his sister Carol to Florida. He supported us in many ways from acting as our Health Care Surrogate to helping us to clean out his sister’s house when she died in 2019.
Chuck was the first person that I knew well who was born in New York State.
Before that, most of our family were West Virginians who were transplanted to Ohio and Pennsylvania. Those are the three states that my father lived in all his life, never more than 250 miles from his birthplace. All the rest of our family except Chuck were born in that circle. His oldest brother and sister were born in the same Ohio hospital that I and my sister Mary Bess were. We moved 3 times before he was born and by the time he graduated from high school we had moved 3 more times.
He wasn’t sure about the school thing; on his first days of school the school bus driver brought him back home the first two mornings and his mother had to drive him in. But he was the first in his family to complete his undergraduate degree. He was the third member of this branch of the Brill family to serve in the armed forces. His great uncle Walton served in Europe in the First World War; his uncle Bud served in Hawaii in the Second World War.
I have always admired the courage that it took for him to tell his mother and me that we were wasting our money on the first college attempt that he made. He came back from his years in the army much more mature and motivated. My respect grew as I saw him become a family man. I came to envy the nearness that he fostered in his large family. Most of his life he has been separated by distance from his siblings. He left a sister behind when we moved from Pittsburgh and a brother when we moved to St. Louis and another brother when Chuck moved his family to Florida. Maybe this encouraged him to nurture the closeness that his family feels with each other.
Another of his attributes that I appreciated was his no-nonsense approach to take on whatever was thrown his way. He didn’t learn his auto mechanic ability from his father, nor his air conditioning mechanic aptitude, nor his talent as a roofer. Charles in most ways was his own man and didn’t try to copy any other.
His faith guided him, his Faith Family sustained him, and his decency was with him his whole life. His strong presence in their lives will sustain his children and their spouses. Her strong family will sustain Christina; their 6 grandchildren will have loving memories of their GPA. Life for all of us will go on but there is an enormous vacancy that will not go away. We are told in Psalms that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit and binds up their wounds. Our consolation is that we were privileged to have had him even for too short of a time.
Obituary
Charles Edward Brill “Chuck,” age 53, loving husband to Christina Petry Brill and father of 7, passed away peacefully Thursday, June 16th, 2022 after a 2 year battle with pancreatic and neuroendocrine cancer. Chuck met Christina in St. Louis, MO in 1987 and immediately fell in love. They married 2 years later on August 18th, 1990. After starting their family with daughter Hope (30) in 1991, they moved to Lawrence, Kansas while chuck finished his bachelor's in architecture. They had 2 more children, Becca (29) and Emma (27) before moving back to St. Louis in 1996. Once settled down, they added Ryan (25) and Holly (23) to the family. In 2003, they moved to Ocala, Florida and completed the family with Grace (17) and Spencer (14). Chuck worked at Lockheed Martin, Ocala for 18 years. During this time, his profound example of love, servitude and Christlike compassion touched countless lives. Chuck will always be remembered for his humble personality and dedication to his family. Chuck is survived by his wife, Christina, 7 children, Hope, Becca, Emma, Ryan, Holly, Grace, Spencer, grandchildren Nikita, Lennox, Otto, Timber, Lucy, Sybil; his parents Jon and JoAnn and siblings. A service will be held at 4pm on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1831 SE 18 Street, Ocala. Online condolences may be left at www.Hiers-Baxley.com
