Charles Ezell Bobo, 89, of Spartanburg, SC, died of prostate and bone cancer on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at his home. Born July 8, 1930 in Spartanburg to Nettie Bobo, he was the youngest of her three daughters and two sons.
Charles demonstrated an independent spirit early on. At the age of 4 he began picking fruit and selling it door to door, and at the age of 9 began working as a mechanic at a local garage. A few years later he went to work for Dr. George Dean and Elizabeth Johnson, where he soon became part of the family, caring for the two older boys, George, Jr. and Stewart.
Charles graduated from Carver High School in 1950 at the top of his class and was the first black recipient of a scholarship from the Spartanburg County Foundation. He attended Benedict College in Columbia, SC, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1954. While in college he became a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, a member of the honor club, and the editor of the college yearbook. He also met the love of his life, Annie Ruth Harps, who was a student from Marion, SC majoring in chemistry.
The two were engaged during Charles’ senior year, but he was drafted in to the Army and they decided to wait to marry until his overseas tour was over. During the two years Charles was deployed in Germany, he learned artillery range finding and land surveying and wrote Annie Ruth every day. They were married on March 11, 1956 and moved to Washington, D.C., where they had two daughters, Charlease and Melinda. Charles worked for the Bureau of Public Roads and Annie Ruth worked for the Naval Research Laboratory.
Charles and Annie Ruth decided they did not want to raise their children in the city, so in 1965 Charles applied for a transfer to the U. S. Forest Service and in 1966 accepted a job in Dubois, Wyoming. The family stayed in Dubois for several years, eventually moving to Grand Marais, Minnesota; Duluth, Minnesota; Escanaba, Michigan; and, Harrisburg, Illinois. Charles retired from the Forest Service in 1985. He and Annie Ruth returned to Spartanburg, where he became the project manager for Morgan Corporation, a grading company. Although he retired in 1997, he continued to work for Morgan as a consultant until shortly before his death.
Charles spent his life helping others discover and fulfill their potential. Si monumentum requiris, circumspice—If you seek his monument, look around you. In earlier years he served as a Boy Scout Leader and a Youth Conservation Corps mentor. He received certificates of merit from the United States Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, and the Order of the Golden Apples from the Shoshone National Forest. He was very active in the Episcopal Church over the years and was most recently a member of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.
Charles had a lifelong love of working on vehicles and restored about thirty cars, mostly Volkswagons, including a 23-window bus, a transporter pickup, and a 412, whose engine was made by the Porsche division. He also restored a 1966 Ford Mustang and a Mercedes Benz which he converted from diesel to gasoline. He also enjoyed singing, fishing, hunting, rock collecting, quilting, doing puzzles, watching old westerns, and going for car rides.
He was preceded in death by his mother Nettie Bobo, sisters Helen Bobo, Dorothy Ferguson and Lillie Mae Davison, and brother John Henry Bobo. He is survived by wife Annie Ruth, daughters Charlease Elzenga (Kor) of Colorado Springs, Colorado and Melinda Bobo of Pinedale, Wyoming, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Charles Bobo’s memorial service will be conducted at 1:30 pm Saturday, March 7 at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, Spartanburg. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the Charles and Annie Ruth Bobo Endowed Scholarship Fund, Benedict College, Office of Alumni Relations, 1600 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204 or to St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 400 Dupre Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29307.
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