Charles Stuart Engle Jr.

Charles Stuart Engle, Jr. of Wolfe City died Friday, April 16, 2010, at home, at the age of 82. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Wolfe City, and a Past Master of Excelsior Lodge No. 505, AF & AM in Wolfe City.
A funeral service will be  at First United Methodist Church of Wolfe City at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Interment will follow immediately at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Wolfe City, and will include Masonic rites and military honors. Visitation is scheduled from 6 until 8 p.m. Monday, April 19, at Owens Funeral Home in Wolfe City.
Charles was born on May 31, 1927, in Sioux City, Iowa; the son of Charles S. Engle, Sr. and Nancy Mozelle (Zella) Engle. The family moved to Fargo, North Dakota when he was 9 months old, and subsequently to Thief River Falls, Minnesota when he was 7 years of age. Their summers were spent in the north, and winters in south Texas. He has been a resident of Wolfe City since 1952.
After graduating from high school at Beeville, Texas, he entered the U.S. Navy and served during 1945/1946. He graduated from North Dakota State University in Fargo in 1950, where he was a member of the first U.S. Air Force ROTC class and was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force Reserve. Charles served as an active reservist for a number of years and rose to the rank of Captain. Eventually he found it necessary to surrender his commission due to commitments of his profession.
He married Maxine Swanson in Thief River Falls, Minn. on October 13, 1951, who preceded him in death on September 10, 1993. He married Jennifer Lee of Wolfe City on November 20, 1999.
He was a commercial beekeeper all of his life, operating in Texas and several northern states. He also served as Wolfe City's Postmaster from 1954 to 1962, and as Hunt County's Veteran's Service Officer from 1990 to 2005.
He was a past president of the Texas Beekeepers Association, which named him Texas Beekeeper of the Year in 1985, and he served on the board of directors for the American Honey Producers Association.
He is survived by his wife Jennifer Engle, daughter Rev. Dr. Marsha Engle Middleton and husband Blake, sister Lorraine Still, sister-in-law Barbara Engle, brother-in-law Robert Thayer and wife Phyllis, stepdaughter Barbara Mann, and stepson Mark Allan and wife Barbara. He is also survived by grandchildren Hannah Beth Middleton, and Benjamin Charles Middleton, step-grandchildren Marcus Hix and wife Terry, Allan Worful, Emily Worful, Max Allan, Taylor Allan, Erica Ortiz and husband Walter, and Andrea Acosta and husband Eddie. Additional survivors include nieces Nancy Hircock and husband Francis, Wanda Melville and husband Bill, and Joann Still, and nephews Scott Engle and wife Patti, Steven Engle and wife Claudia, and Alan Engle and wife Patty. He is also survived by many great-nephews, great-nieces, and step-greatgrandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother Francis Engle, one sister Elizabeth Thayer, brother-in-law W. A. Still, nephew Richard Still and stepdaughter Christine Worful.
Pallbearers for the service will include Scott Engle, Steven Engle, Alan Engle, Larry Macon, Bradley Moore, John Paul Roundtree, and Rob White. Honorary pallbearers are Bethel Henslee, Randy Johnson, Curtis Myers, Rueben Milton, R. C. "Bobby" Owens, Sidney Wasson, Ron Wensel, and J. T. "Woody" Woodruff