Charles Sylvester Countryman

8/29/1950 – 7/7/2024

Chuck had a way of drawing you in. His humor and goofiness were contagious. He was a straight shooter and rarely let you get away with anything. You always knew where he stood. He was a man of his word. He was generous, kind and loved hard.

Family and friends sought him out when dealing with an issue or problem. If you were doing the woe is me, he would pull out the finger violin and play a tune. You’d laugh, the mood would lighten and then he’d answer your question with a question. He’d guide you to come to your own conclusion and when you’d leave, you would feel lighter.

He loved country music and dancing. Two step, west coast swing, night club, schottische, line dancing. He was good at all of them and would spin you around the floor until you were dizzy and out of breath. It was hard to keep up with his energy. He put 100% into everything he did.

He loved woodworking and had projects going in his shop most days. He turned out beautiful scroll saw presets for family and friends. He made Christmas ornaments every year for the tree. He was generous with his tools and gave keys to his beloved shop to his neighbors. With a check out board on the wall, he kept track of who had borrowed what. If you needed a tool you went to Chuck. He’s been a Green Bay Packers fan for years. On any given game day, you could find him decked out in his Packers gear with the Packers flag blowing in the wind on the front porch. GO PACKERS!!!

He also loved him some Crown Royal and had the bar stocked with all the different flavors. His favorite though was the Crown Royal Reserve. If he wasn’t wearing a baseball hat then he was wearing a cowboy hat or one of his many Boston Scally caps.

He was drafted into the Army at age 18 (1968), did his training at Ft. Polk, LA (Tigerland). Served as an infantryman with 25th ID in Vietnam, was wounded and almost lost his life to a landmine. He was sent home and stationed at Ft. Riley, KS, then honorably discharged at age 19 (1969).
He continued to work for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 36 years. He had many roles during his career. While supervisor, his coworkers thought highly of him for his knowledge, tell it how it is personality and humor, often stepping out of his office to perform a goofy dance to boost that “last part of the day” morale. He was not afraid to speak up if he felt something was not right, no matter who you were.

He was extremely proud to call several medal of honor recipients his friends and would defend them fiercely. He loved telling stories about all the shenanigans that they got into.

He loved his family, was a devoted hubby, dad, papa, brother and friend. He will be dearly missed by all he touched. Rest in peace my honey, until we dance again.