Cover photo for Charles William Jolley's Obituary
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1926 Charles 2020

Charles William Jolley

June 13, 1926 — September 26, 2020

Charles W. Jolley, 94, passed away peacefully September 26, 2020 at the residence of his daughter, with his loving family surrounding him.
Charles was born in Athens, Tennessee on June 13, 1926 to William Jolley and Elsie Hicks-Jolley. He attended Rhea County Schools in Dayton, Tennessee and moved to Battle Creek, Michigan when he was 17 years old. He worked in Post Cereal until his induction into the United States Army. He received training at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia and was then deployed to Germany in 1945 where he bravely served his country. After his service in the Army, he came back to Tennessee and married his longtime sweetheart, Elizabeth Edna Coxey, on August 29, 1946. They returned to Battle Creek and started their family.
Charles worked for Michigan Carton Company (later became St. Regis Paper Company) as a machinist for 45 years. He was so proficient at his job, many times when he was on vacation, the paper process shut down until his return. He also served as union representative for many years.
He loved building and creating things. He built the family home laying the concrete block basement and finishing each detail of the home. Charles built an A frame cabin in northern Michigan and also built the furniture for the cabin where he and Edna enjoyed many years of snowmobiling. He took the challenge of building a three wheeled car, learning to weld and create the fiberglass body of the vehicle. Charles was an incredible Scrabble player, rarely losing a game. He loved to read and would read 5-6 books a week. He started playing golf at the age of 74, playing nearly every day that weather permitted and had two hole in one shots in his nearly 20 years of playing the game.
Of all his accomplishments, he prized his family the most, enjoying his children, grandchildren and also his great grandchildren.
Charles was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Elizabeth Edna Jolley, his parents and his brother Wesley Jolley.
He is survived by his son, Charles R. (Adele Douglas) Jolley of Shawnee, Kansas, daughter Charlene Paige of Battle Creek and Anita (Thomas E.) Evans of Battle Creek, his grandchildren, Amanda Wood, James Jolley, Sara Brand, Michael Evans and Amy Slagle. He is also survived by 13 great grandchildren.
A private family visitation and funeral service will be held at a later date. Interment will be at Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens in Battle Creek.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the Haven of Rest, P.O. Box 52, Battle Creek, Michigan 49016-0052.
Arrangements were entrusted to Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services 2838 Capital Ave. SW Battle Creek, Michigan 49015. Please visit https://kempffuneralhome.com to view the online obituary, to sign the online guestbook or to leave the family condolences.

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