Obituary

Charles “Chuck” Naber of Canton, Michigan passed away on Monday, September 2, 2024 at the age of 96.
Charles was born on May 31, 1928, in Covington, KY to Harry and Dolly (Kirst) Naber. Remaining there throughout his childhood and young adult years, he was a graduate of Covington Catholic High School and enjoyed playing basketball along with his brother, Bob. After college he began working for S.S. Kresge Stores in sales management, and later on in his career, became part of the K-Mart retail corporation, from where he retired. He also served his time in the armed services as an Army supply specialist in the Korean War.
Charles met his first wife Grace in Covington through their joint love of the Drama Club and Social groups. They were married on Aug 2, 1952 in Covington, KY. They had three children: Beth, Charles Jr. and Ben. Throughout his career with S.S. Kresge and Kmart they moved from Kentucky to various parts of Ohio and Michigan, and finally settled in Livonia in 1968. As a family, they were parishioners of St. Genevieve Catholic Church, where Charles was part of the Sunday Choir. His Catholic faith was a big part of his life, and he had a deep love of music and singing in the choir. Charles lost the love of his life Grace to breast cancer on December 16, 1979. This was a hard loss for him and his children, who were still in high school and college.
After losing his wife, he continued pursuing his love for music by singing in the choir. One special night at a choir dinner, he happened to be seated next to another woman in the choir, who also happened to be a widow, and her name was Katherine “Kay” Dooley. They think it was fate that they got seated next to one another. They started up a conversation and instantly began to enjoy each other’s company. They went on a few dates and knew the connection was there and were married on March 20, 1981. Kay had 5 sons: Michael, Jim, Paul, Ed and David. The marriage of Kay and Chuck blended their two families into a new family, along with Beth, Charlie Jr. and Ben. They continued their time here in Michigan until the early 1990’s when they decided to leave the cold weather behind and head to St. Augustine, Florida, where they enjoyed 25 years of living in the sun, playing golf and enjoying family and friends. Their children got married and then came the grandchildren and great grandchildren. They loved spending time with their children and watching them grow into adults.
Kay and Chuck continued to live well into their 80’s, and as they approached 90, they came back to Michigan in 2018 to be near family. On Jan 15, 2020, Kay passed away and Chuck lost his next love, but he carried on as a widower again as he was turning 90. Chuck continued to live in his condo in Canton with the support of his children and VA caregivers.
Charles was a wonderful, faithful and kind man who loved his family. He had a strong compassion for giving back to those less fortunate. He spent over 20 years managing the St. Vincent DePaul store in St. Augustine, FL in addition to continued support of his favorite charities including the Marianist Mission. He loved seeing his grandchildren and great grandchildren grow up as they always brought a SMILE to his face.
Charles was preceded in death by his wife Grace (Kruetzkamp) and Katherine (Dooley). Charles is survived by his daughter Beth Naber, sons Charles Jr. (Karen) Naber, and Ben (Brenda) Naber, along with Michael Dooley, Jim (Kim) Dooley, Paul (Kristine) Dooley, Ed Dooley and David (Susan) Dooley. Seventeen Grandchildren: Derek, Meredith, Katelyn, Benjamin Jr, Matia, Katie, John, Michael, Maggie, Kevin, Christian, Matthew, Madison, Adam, Jocelyn, Natalie and Katie and 16 Great Grandchildren.
Mr. Naber’s Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Saturday, September 7th, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas a’Becket Catholic Church, 555 S. Lilley Rd., Canton, MI. Preceding the Mass, he will lie in state at the church at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Charles’s name be directed to the Marianist Mission, Mount Saint John, 4435 East Patterson Road, Dayton, OH 45481-0001.