Charles West

Burlington-Charles W. West, a native of Charleston, WV passed away on Saturday, May 16, 2015 after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by his wife of 42 years, Audrey S. West and his parents, Cecile and Howard West of Cabin Creek, WV. He is survived by his son, Kim William West of San Francisco, CA; daughter, Karen West Comfort of Durham, NC; stepdaughter, Cheryl Harrison Jack of Charleston, WV; stepson, William Eades Anna of Baltimore, MD; grandchildren, Kristen Harrison of Charleston, WV and Jeremy Harrison of Denver, CO; sisters, Hannah Bowman Tom of St. Albans, WV, Barbara West of Danbury, CT and his brother, Jerry West Karen of Los Angeles, CA. He is preceded in death by his brother, Sgt. David L. West, who died in action in the Korean War and Patricia Noel of Pratt, WV. Charles was born on October 20, 1926 in Cabin Creek, WV. It was there he graduated from East Bank High School in 1943 and was honored to serve as a delegate to Boys State in 1942. Charles was a World War II veteran serving with the 13th Air Force in the Philippines and a graduate of the University of Charleston Morris Harvey College. He retired as the Business Manager of the Charleston Civic Center. He was a 21 year member of the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston where he served as an Elder, Class of 1988. Charles and Audrey moved to North Carolina in December, 1993 and began their retirement at Twin Lakes Retirement Community. There he enjoyed serving his community where he was cited by the Men's Club for his 14 years of service as Program Chairman. He also served 5 years as Treasurer of Auxiliary and President of the Men's Club. Always civic minded, Charles was solely responsible in arranging for a voting precinct at Twin Lakes. Today, it still leads Alamance County with the highest percentage of voter balloting. Charles treasured his retirement life where he enjoyed his weekly bridge games, group travels and many other social activities. He was enriched and rewarded by his Seabury neighbors and the many friendly residents and caring staff at Twin Lakes that he met through the years. In his words, "these were the best years of my life". Charles served his community as a 15 year volunteer at Alamance Regional Medical Center and was a 5 year volunteer at Habitat for Humanity. He was a member of the Springwood Presbyterian Church. A memorial service will be held at the Twin Lakes May-Foley Chapel, Saturday, May 30, 2015 at 11:00 am by Father Mark Menees and Dr. Genie Martin. A reception to celebrate Charles's life will be held at the Pepper Tree immediately after the service. The family would like to express their appreciation to his neighbors and staff at Twin Lakes for all the loving attention and support provided to Mr. West and his family. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Springwood Presbyterian Church and the TLC Assistance Fund.