Raymond CHARLES

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CHARLES: Raymond Andrew Charles - March 1, 1961 – February 16, 2014. Raymond passed away on February 16, 2014 at the Brandon General Hospital after he collapsed at a family gathering near Grande Clairiere, MB. Ray was born March 2, 1961 in Weyburn, SK to Eugene and Eliza Charles of Alida, SK. He lived with is birth parents and siblings Lorraine (Simmons), Robert, Rene and Cecille (Harrison) for one year. Raymond became a member of the Henry and Beatrice Charles family in March of 1962. He grew up on a farm near Grande Clairiere with his sisters Dianna (Freeman), Shirley (Dunn), Nancy (Elliott) and brother Mark. Ray attended school in Hartney, Elgin, and Souris Manitoba, in the Special Education Program. He left home young and got his first job working for a farmer in Saskatchewan. He later worked for Saputo Cheese in Souris for eighteen years, until he had to quit due to mental illness. Ray married Doris Martyn in 1982 divorced in 1996. They had two children: Barbara in 1984 and Michael in 1986. Barbara has three children Travis, Royce and Rachael. In the last few years Ray lived in Brandon and worked at Ventures. His roommates, the people at Ventures, Ray’s proctors and mental health case workers were his third family. Ray loved to fish, knit, listen to music, watch movies and buy and sell anything. He was especially proud of his Master Angler Fish and if he could buy a broken watch or clock “cheap” and get it working again. He was a member of the Fishing Group at Ventures and C.A.T.S. (Collectable and Thrifty Shoppers). Ray struggled with Paranoid Schizophrenia his whole life. His mind is now finally at rest. We will miss Ray dearly, but take some comfort that if he had to go so young; that he passed getting a cup of coffee on his way out for a cigarette, in a hunting lodge just a couple of miles from where he grew up, surrounded by people who loved him. A funeral Service was held in St. Jean’s Catholic Church in Grande Clairiere, MB, with Father John Okosun officiating. Interment fallowed in the Grande Clairiere Cemetery. Donations in memory of Raymond may be made to the Gaulin Foundatio ( A foundation dedicated to furthering education of people with mental illness) 2334 De Mexico, Laval, Quebec. H7 M 3C9 www.gaulinfoundation.org

As published in Brandon Sun on Mar 15, 2014