1952
Charles
2021
Charles Ricky Campbell
January 12, 1952 — August 3, 2021
A Life Well-Lived, A Life Well-Loved
Charles “Charlie” Ricky Campbell, 69, went home to Heaven on August 3, 2021 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic and liver cancer. He passed peacefully in his home, with his devoted family by his side.
Charlie (with multiple aliases including Rick, Ricky, Chuck, Chas) was born January 12, 1952 in Mt Clemens, Michigan. He was the eldest of 3 children of Wilma (Earl) and Charles Campbell and was raised in Hazel Park, a suburb on the north side of Detroit. While he celebrated his family’s southern roots, spending many childhood summers gallivanting with his kin in Alabama, Charlie was a Michigander through and through. He was proud of the neighborhood in which he grew up and returned to visit his family year after year. Growing up in Motown cemented his love of music and the Motor City culture, and he was a devotee to Michigan sports teams, even after moving to Indiana and becoming a Hoosier. He was not only a sports fan, but also a talented athlete – he excelled in baseball, basketball, and football as a Viking at Hazel Park High. After his graduation in 1970, he moved to Indiana to attend college at Ball State University. Though his plans to pursue architecture and play football as a Cardinal did not pan out, the course of his life was changed in Muncie when he met the great love of his life, Denise Fields. After a courtship through their collegiate years, they were married in Indianapolis on May 19, 1973.
Charlie began his long and dedicated career with International Harvester (later Navistar and even later Indianapolis Casting Corporation). While he began working in the foundry as a college student, he worked his way through various positions—learning and teaching as went—and retired from management in 2010. He was always passionate about Safety Education and received multiple awards for his instructional work in this arena.
While he was a hard-working employee for nearly 4 decades, he was an even more dedicated husband, father, and church member. Charlie and Denise were devoted parents to their two daughters, Cara and Kelly. Charlie was an unabashed “girl dad” and was extremely proud participant in many of his children’s activities. He was an Indian Princess Dad (a YMCA affiliation in the 1990s for dads and daughters), a club basketball coach, a volleyball super fan, and an avid member of the Lawrence North DadCat Squad. He was also a master road-tripper who could put Clark Griswold to shame, often planning extended and fun-filled trips all over the country with his family in tow. Another title that earned him a great deal of pride and notoriety was that of “G-pa” – after years of being surrounded by daughters and nieces, he became the grandfather of three boys, who will carry on his legacy in years to come.
Besides his loving family, Charlie’s passion project in the final 25 years of his life was his participation in the Church at the Crossing Youth program, most notably with their Work Camp missions with the Habitats for Humanity organization. He began as a counselor when his daughters were in middle school, and then became entrenched as an integral member of the planning team, work force allocator, and supervising project manager. He and Denise were much-loved camp counselors who traveled with the Youth Group to many sites within the Midwest and Southeast, including Virginia, Michigan, and Kentucky. His final road trip was driving to Frakes, Kentucky, where he chose to donate all of his power tools to the Henderson Settlement, his favorite and most familiar work camp location. His passion for this mission was humbling, honorable, and contagious. For this reason, the family asks that donations to this organization be made in Charlie’s name, in part to support the settlement and also in part to assist in funding future work campers that may not otherwise have the means to attend.
Charlie was a man of many hats—literally and figuratively—so it is hard to capture the rich scope of his legacy in this measured space. He was Christ-like in the manner of never knowing a stranger, and always finding a way to show unconditional love. Someone who loved him once said: “There are two types of people in this world: Friends of Charlie, and people Charlie hadn’t met yet.”
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Denise; daughters Cara and Kelly; son-in-law Bill; grandsons Evan, Liam, and Colin; brother Ron and sister Donna; as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family who have loved him dearly and will keep his memory alive.
He was preceded in death by his parents Wilma and Charles Campbell.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made through the GoFundMe website:
https://gofund.me/b2085994
Charles “Charlie” Ricky Campbell, 69, went home to Heaven on August 3, 2021 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic and liver cancer. He passed peacefully in his home, with his devoted family by his side.
Charlie (with multiple aliases including Rick, Ricky, Chuck, Chas) was born January 12, 1952 in Mt Clemens, Michigan. He was the eldest of 3 children of Wilma (Earl) and Charles Campbell and was raised in Hazel Park, a suburb on the north side of Detroit. While he celebrated his family’s southern roots, spending many childhood summers gallivanting with his kin in Alabama, Charlie was a Michigander through and through. He was proud of the neighborhood in which he grew up and returned to visit his family year after year. Growing up in Motown cemented his love of music and the Motor City culture, and he was a devotee to Michigan sports teams, even after moving to Indiana and becoming a Hoosier. He was not only a sports fan, but also a talented athlete – he excelled in baseball, basketball, and football as a Viking at Hazel Park High. After his graduation in 1970, he moved to Indiana to attend college at Ball State University. Though his plans to pursue architecture and play football as a Cardinal did not pan out, the course of his life was changed in Muncie when he met the great love of his life, Denise Fields. After a courtship through their collegiate years, they were married in Indianapolis on May 19, 1973.
Charlie began his long and dedicated career with International Harvester (later Navistar and even later Indianapolis Casting Corporation). While he began working in the foundry as a college student, he worked his way through various positions—learning and teaching as went—and retired from management in 2010. He was always passionate about Safety Education and received multiple awards for his instructional work in this arena.
While he was a hard-working employee for nearly 4 decades, he was an even more dedicated husband, father, and church member. Charlie and Denise were devoted parents to their two daughters, Cara and Kelly. Charlie was an unabashed “girl dad” and was extremely proud participant in many of his children’s activities. He was an Indian Princess Dad (a YMCA affiliation in the 1990s for dads and daughters), a club basketball coach, a volleyball super fan, and an avid member of the Lawrence North DadCat Squad. He was also a master road-tripper who could put Clark Griswold to shame, often planning extended and fun-filled trips all over the country with his family in tow. Another title that earned him a great deal of pride and notoriety was that of “G-pa” – after years of being surrounded by daughters and nieces, he became the grandfather of three boys, who will carry on his legacy in years to come.
Besides his loving family, Charlie’s passion project in the final 25 years of his life was his participation in the Church at the Crossing Youth program, most notably with their Work Camp missions with the Habitats for Humanity organization. He began as a counselor when his daughters were in middle school, and then became entrenched as an integral member of the planning team, work force allocator, and supervising project manager. He and Denise were much-loved camp counselors who traveled with the Youth Group to many sites within the Midwest and Southeast, including Virginia, Michigan, and Kentucky. His final road trip was driving to Frakes, Kentucky, where he chose to donate all of his power tools to the Henderson Settlement, his favorite and most familiar work camp location. His passion for this mission was humbling, honorable, and contagious. For this reason, the family asks that donations to this organization be made in Charlie’s name, in part to support the settlement and also in part to assist in funding future work campers that may not otherwise have the means to attend.
Charlie was a man of many hats—literally and figuratively—so it is hard to capture the rich scope of his legacy in this measured space. He was Christ-like in the manner of never knowing a stranger, and always finding a way to show unconditional love. Someone who loved him once said: “There are two types of people in this world: Friends of Charlie, and people Charlie hadn’t met yet.”
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Denise; daughters Cara and Kelly; son-in-law Bill; grandsons Evan, Liam, and Colin; brother Ron and sister Donna; as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family who have loved him dearly and will keep his memory alive.
He was preceded in death by his parents Wilma and Charles Campbell.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made through the GoFundMe website:
https://gofund.me/b2085994
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Charles Ricky Campbell, please visit our flower store.
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