Charles Marcel Latimer's Obituary
Charles Marcel Latimer enjoyed life and he met it head on. He was born as the eldest of three siblings to Vivian Phillips and Dr. Albert Latimer on April 19th, 1935, during the Black Wall Street Era of Tulsa, OK. Throughout his youth, he worked in the family’s general store and pharmacy, where he would often spend summers at his Aunt Alice’s farm in Shoto, OK. His time spent working on the farm would develop into a lifelong love of horses, and the farm life, where his riding skills led to a life-long love for cowboys and the rodeo.
As a young man, he cultivated a frugal habit of managing money which would carry him throughout a challenging life, he was even the only one in his high school to own their own car; a 1941 Model T Ford. From graduating from Booker T. Washington High in 1954, to migrating north alone to Detroit where he would live with his aunt, eventually later joined by his mother and sisters. Only two years later while attending Wayne State University for a brief time, Charles married his now deceased wife Janet Marie Reed-Latimer and would start a family. Under the pressure of a challenging political time and driven by the love he had for his young family, he moved them all to Lorain, Ohio, where he put his meticulous nature and car maintenance skills to use forging a respected career at the Ford Motor Company as a foreman and line inspector until retirement.
Throughout the 66 years living in Lorain with his family of six, Charles joined a bowling league and enjoyed the comforts of camping with his family. He would often drive throughout the neighborhood making friends, sharing stories, and having a few drinks. During this time, he forged a robust life as an active member of the community; being a member of the NAACP, the Democratic party, as well as the UAW union and the Free Masons. He would also serve as the Chairperson of the Civil Rights Committee at Ford and was a member of the Cherokee Freedman Nation. Throughout all of this, Charles would maintain a diehard love of basketball and football, and like a true Buckeye, he followed the Cleveland Cavaliers and Browns, and Ohio State to the very end.
Although the love of his life; Janet Marie Reed-Latimer preceded him in death, Charles leaves behind two sisters: Mary Robinson and Bennie Mae Latimer (Detroit, MI) and four children; Robin Bradley (Jeff- Branchburg, NJ), Tikara Robinson (Jackie-Columbus, OH), Vivian Marcey Alexander (Columbus, OH) and Charles Latimer II (Louisville, KY) as well as ten grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and too many nieces and nephews and dear friends to count.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, July 27th, 2024 from 10:00 am until the time of his funeral service at 12:00 pm at Dovin and Reber Jones Funeral & Cremation Center, 1110 Cooper Foster Park Road, Amherst. Interment will follow at 2:00 pm at Resthaven Memory Gardens, Avon. To send an online condolence, please visit www.dovinreberjones.com.
On behalf of the Latimer Family, we would like to thank you for your prayers and loving support. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a Cancer Research Foundation of your choosing.
A private luncheon for family will follow after the interment at the Dovin and Reber Jones Funeral & Cremation Center.
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