Obituary of Charlie Weston

WESTON: Charles Edward

Passed December 12, 2022 at 2:55 p.m. at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance in his 102nd year. Predeceased by his wife Eleanor May Murray (April 1997) and his son Paul William Weston (2018). He is survived by his daughter Annette Frances Hoffman and his granddaughter Rachel Lynn Hoffman.

Charles was born and raised in Ridgetown on Lisgar Street. He went to school in a one room school house located at the Ridgetown Public School that is now a Ball Diamond on Jane Street, before the school was moved to where it sits now. He went to war when he turned 18 and was in Bermuda so he could be a rifleman on the rifle range years later, when he came out of the army. He was at a boarding house which is now Mrs. Rudy Brown’s house on West Street in Ridgetown. Charlie first worked at TUPE Turin’s factory on York Street. This is where he met his wife. After that he started working at KSR where he worked until his 65th birthday. He retired while in the hospital having a hernia operation.

He rode his bike to and from work, in every kind of weather there was. Only on a handful of times, once when his son was to be born; and once when it snowed so hard in 1975 the factory shut, he came home on a snowmobile. After working all day Charlie would come home, grab the lawnmower and went out to cut one of the 25 lawns he cut with a push mower. When KSR was shut down he went to work for the Hydro company. After he retired, he continued to cut grass. Charlie first started cutting grass when he was a school boy. He cut the grass at the Ridgetown Cemetery for 25 cents. When he finished cutting grass, he was making 15 dollars a lawn. He wore out three lawnmowers. After grass was done in 1995, he built a wagon from an old train baggage cart and he had an old Simplicity garden tractor to pull it. He went in every Ridgetown, Thamesville, Highgate parade and with his tractor named Hee Haw, a lot of people got to know it as Hee Haw. At Christmas time for the parade, people in town waited to see good ol’ Hee Haw and the Wagon. People would say it wouldn’t be a parade if ol’ Charlie and Hee Haw weren’t in it.

He became a long time member of the EKVEC where those guys and gals would take him for the weekend and make sure he was well taken care of. When those guys and gals had a meeting out of town, they loved coming to get him because they knew he would take them back in time with his stories and wished the ride was longer so they could hear more. At their year end banquet, they would come out with a birthday cake and a huge card that he would he read for a week. Seeing all the names on it, he would then go to the Independent Newspaper to show them and get his picture taken. For Canada’s 150th Birthday, they made Charlie the Parade Marshall for Ridgetown. In 2022, Charlie’s wagon was not able to be driven any longer, so his granddaughter had a buggy from 1909 and she decorated it all up and her horse pulled it and had him riding in the back.

On Friday, December 9, 2022 he had an accidental fall in his house with his daughter there. She called the ambulance and they all headed to the CKHA where they found out he had broken his bone, just below the left hip. On Saturday morning, he had surgery. Sunday was a let him rest day. Monday he was to start physio. At 2 p.m. his daughter got a call from the hospital to say he took a turn for the worse and his daughter and granddaughter where on their way to the hospital. They arrived to say their last goodbye and by 2:55 p.m. Charlie had passed peacefully, with his family and family dog at his side. Yes, the ICU allowed the dog to come in to be with him as well. At 102 years, the doctor said it wasn’t the surgery that took him, he developed pneumonia and his left lung had filled up and over powered his recovery.

In keeping with Charlie’s wishes cremation has taken place. A celebration of Charlies life will take place at a later date.

Online condolences may be left at www.mckinlayfuneralhome.com

McKinlay Funeral Home

76 Main Street East, Ridgetown

519-674-3141