Birth date: Oct 7, 1949 Death date: Oct 7, 2024
Charles G. Coble, Jr. of Orlean, Virginia, passed away at his home on October 7, 2024, on his 75th birthday. The October 7th date highlights an annual day of remembrance in the Catholic Church, the Feast of the Holy Rosary. Charli Read Obituary
We are so very sorry for your loss, Dana Swett and Jacob Swett
Dear Danuta,
First, I give you my sincere condolences on the passing of Charlie. Our family has been continuously praying for him and your family.
He was a good friend and a very noble and generous man. As the years wore on in his battle with cancer, he grew firmly in holiness. He accepted God’s will for him; in all honesty, I do not ever remember him complaining about his lot. He grew to accept his situation with joy as a grace-filled means of preparing for eternity. More recently, his conversations became much more focused on eternal beatitude and the avoidance of hell, getting one’s life in order before God, those things which ultimately matter in life. He has been an excellent model for us all on the “art of dying well” and in the growth of holiness.
I honestly think that Charlie’s death will continue to carry out God’s work in a mighty way for some time to come. Oftentimes, God brings great graces to family members and friends after the death of a saintly/ noble man or woman. Because of his witness and the graces unleashed by God on account of his holy life, people who may be struggling with the faith or morality may undergo a deep sincere conversion. For some, it will be immediate, for others, more gradual.
One friend recently told me that Charlie was a noble soul and a saint. Another friend informed me that Charlie was having these conversations about “eternity” with friends who had recently “fallen away” from the faith. As a sincere Christian, he was conducting apostolic work and executing the spiritual works of mercy, concretely exhibiting the “love of neighbor.”
I have many great memories of time spent with you and Charlie together, others with Charlie alone. I remember fondly his stories of his own father, especially his father’s generosity to suffering Germans after WWII when he oversaw the commissary over there. No doubt the generous example of his very own father deeply impacted him. Charlie was a deeply generous and charitable soul.
Charlie had a great love for Germany. He loved traveling around Germany and learning more about it. As one who made friends easily, he befriended a small group of German nationals with whom he traveled on motorcycles both in Europe and in the American West. He loved to talk about these trips, showing us the pictures from his adventures. In particular, he loved to talk about driving his motorcycle on the Stelvio Pass, the second highest pass in the Alps, punctuated with forty-eight hairpin turns. I can still see him grinning as he enthusiastically described his traverse of these switchbacks. I also remember his regaling us with stories of the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest), looming high above the beautiful Bavarian city of Berchtesgaden.
Charlie loved car racing. In 2018 he took my son Phil (Charlie and Danuta’s godson) and me to a NASCAR race down near Richmond. I knew nothing. He filled us in on everything about the strategy and the tactics of the drivers. Charlie really wanted us to appreciate the artistry of the race driver at the highest level possible. He made sure that we had food, drinks, and ear protection. Of all the people whom I personally knew, Charlie was the most knowledgeable individual about cars and trucks, as well as the function of their various parts. I remember him telling us about the origins of NASCAR racing; it all began with these North Carolina bootleggers of moonshine racing and modifying their cars so that they could evade the Feds. Charlie was a great raconteur.
Charlie loved his God, his faith, his family, his friends, and his country. When my own time comes to meet my maker, his example will be foremost in my mind.
May God’s blessings abundantly fall on all you and your families.
God bless you, Sarah, and Olivia,
Joe Sladky
I have always thought of Charlie as the epitome of a fine Southern gentleman, never heard him come close to uttering a curse word never heard him raise his voice. You can't talk about about him without mentioning his love of family, church, and of course NASCAR. My personal experience of him though must include his love of negotiation, like the time he got the government discount for us at the Holiday Inn in Beaver Falls, it took about an half hour but he got the discount, the time in Deep Creek he wanted a second ride on an individual car roller coaster because the person in front of him went to slow, he got the second ride. He had an adventurous spirit as evidenced by his motor cycle tours of Europe and the Western States. I treasure the talk we had at Hancock MD about life religion, and politics. Me a die in the wool liberal, he a staunch conservative, voices were never raised and we shared common views on many things, He was so thrilled when he discovered that I love classic muscle cars, that's one reason I think he took me for a ride in his Thunderbird convertible, I thought we were just going to cruise around the back roads near his home, but no he took me out on the highway, no seat belt, no roof, so open and vulnerable and a little bit scary, but in the end I enjoyed it tremendously. This was the one time I saw him angry because we caught a red light that was extra long, he was not happy. My fondest memories are the Thanksgivings we spent with him over the last 4 years, I have renamed my recipe for dressing to: Charles Coble Thanksgiving Day Dressing. So happy I got to know you over the last 27 years, so proud to call you Brother in Law, so honored to be able to call you friend. Bless you Charlie you have touched so many.
