Charles "Charlie" Leland Williams, 88 years young, passed away on February 9, 2024 in Liberty, MO surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Judy.  He was always a teenager at heart and his laugh and love of life will be greatly missed.

Charlie was born June 20, 1935 near Albany, MO to his parents, Charles Thomas and Edith (Glick) Williams. He attended school in Albany and graduated Albany High School in 1953.  After high school, he attended Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, MO.

He attended church services throughout his life including Lone Star Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Albany, and the Knoxville Community Church of Knoxville, MO.

He married Judith L Marsh on December 31, 1966 and with that union had 3 sons:  Charles "Chas" Lee, born 1974; Thomas Jon, born 1976; and Andrew Franklin, born 1979.  He also had a daughter, Rhonda Gale, from a previous marriage.

Charlie was known to never sit still.  He worked dozens of jobs and often from before the sun was up to well past sundown.  As a young boy, he helped his father with milking cows on the farm and with a newspaper route. He would often tell of working as a pin setter at the bowling alley before mechanical pin setting became a thing.  As an adult, he would go on to work at the General Motors Leeds Manufacturing Plant in Kansas City for 26 years.  For many of those years he would wake at 3 AM to make the 2-hour drive from Albany to Kansas City for his morning shift, each day.  He would also run a farm raising cattle, hogs, corn, and soybeans all while working full time at the car plant. After "early retirement" in 1988 he later worked as the Head Groundskeeper for the Albany Country Club and helped clean the National Guard Armory in Albany until he "retired" again in 2001.  But his favorite job by far was driving a school bus for the Albany R-III School District.  He enjoyed a regular bus route but loved taking teams to the ball games or band competitions.  The call of "Charlie – Start the bus!" was heard in many rival schools near the end of games.  Even after his third "retirement", Charlie was still a fixture at the Albany ball games for years.

Charlie had a love of history and the outdoors and would tell everyone about the 50 mile hike from Albany to St Joseph he took part in during his younger days.  He enjoyed traveling and visiting all the different states and the National Parks and historical sites and battlefields.  Ski trips, road trips, and cruises were all a big part of his life and he shared those joys with family.  He also enjoyed playing cards with family and friends.

He was a proud union member of the United Auto Workers, and was a staunch lifelong Democrat.  He treated all people he met as if they were long-time friends.  He also had a deep love of animals and rescued many cats and dogs that had once been abandoned.  He would often work in the yard with his favorite cat following or riding along with Charlie on his golf cart.

In 2005, Charlie and Judy built their dream home near Lathrop, MO to be near their children and grandchildren.  They enjoyed many years entertaining and spending hours in the pool and hot tub.  His happiest days were any that involved being around family and spending time with them.

He is survived by sons Chas (Liberty, MO), Thomas (Liberty, MO), Andrew and wife Amy (Des Moines IA); grandchildren: Kiley, Corie, and Charlie; great grandson: Oliver (all Liberty MO); sister Maryann Shores (Savannah, MO) and nephew Randy Shores (Savannah, MO) and niece Wendy Shores (Medford, OR); sisters-in-law: Patricia Craven (Cleveland, TN), Sondra Worden (Meridian, ID); and brothers-in-law: Teddy "TJ" Marsh and wife Pam (Ellensburg WA), and Mike Marsh and wife Mikel (Red Bluff, CA).  He also is survived by numerous cousins around the Gentry County area that he was extremely fond of.

Memorial Service: 2:00 PM Saturday, March 16 at the Roberson-Polley Chapel, Albany. Inurnment will follow in the Grandview Cemetery, Albany. The family will receive friends two hours prior to the service on Saturday at the chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family would ask for those to consider a donation in Charlie's name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org or the Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org/donate/_donation-tribute.asp Online condolences: www.robersonpolleychapel.com