Charles Chukwumezia Oduocha

Charles Chukwumezia Oduocha was born on May 27, 1960, in Ibadan, Nigeria to Peter John (P.J.) and Janet Oduocha. He spent his formative years in Nigeria, moving to the United States on January 1, 1982 to pursue a Bachelors degree. He graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts in 1987 with a Bachelors in Business Administration. Afterwards, he pursued further training in Aviation maintenance and Avionics at East Coast Aero Technical School, Bedford, Massachusetts, graduating in 1991. He obtained FAA, A&P, Mainframe and Powerplant and Avionics licenses. He worked for American Eagle and Northwest Airlines before transitioning to Avionics, working for Panasonic Avionics and Thales Avionics. His entire career spanned over thirty years.

He met his wife, Lucille Oduocha (née Okere) in 1993 in Houston, Texas and wedded a year later in 1994. Their remarkable union which lasted 26 plus years, was one to be emulated and was well admired by their friends. They had 3 handsome boys and 1 beautiful girl.      

Charles, known to his close friends and family as Charlie, valued his faith, strong education, and memorable family vacations although he mostly refused to participate in family game nights. We always teased him that he mastered the skill of spoiling family game nights by giving away the answers to trivia questions. Charlie was known as a man of great faith, he drew strength from his intimate relationship with God, partaking in daily prayers, and bible discussions with friends and family. In all he did, he relied on God’s wisdom and guidance. He showed himself to be a true minister of Christ, encouraging his wife, children, and those around him in their personal walks with God.

Charlie valued strong education which he instilled in his children. On afternoon car rides, flitting from one extracurricular activity to another, he would discuss future academic goals and next steps to achieve them. He diligently kept track of his children’s academic accomplishments and endeavors, no matter how small, from educational awards to good semester report cards. He took great pride in celebrating these achievements, sometimes being moved to tears during the larger ones, such as high school and college graduations. His everchanging WhatsApp display pictures often related the recent happenings in the family.

Charlie was described by his loved ones as kind and personable, with a great sense of humor. He was an artist at heart, demonstrating exceptional skill in drawing and painting. He enjoyed biking, watching television with or without his family, and often falling asleep while sitting on the floor to watch TV. He was the handyman of the house, maintaining HVAC systems, auto-repairs and home improvement projects, always looking for new ways to use his numerous power tools. He even invented a bathroom power scrubber made with his Makita power drill.

He passed away on June 12, 2020. He is survived by his wife, Lucille Oduocha (nee Okere), a Principal Engineer at Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and his four children: Ugonna, a Chemical Engineer at Hormel Foods; Chimaobim (Chima), a college basketball player and Biology undergraduate at Missouri S&T, Rolla, Mo; Ikenna, a Pre-med Biochemistry undergraduate at University of Illinois in Springfield; and Chikere, a recent high school graduate and University of Wisconsin, Madison, incoming Chemistry freshman where she will be competing at the Big10 Track and Field events. Charlie is additionally survived by his twin sisters and their spouses Felix and Emelda Ihegworo, Cletus and Edith Nwachukwu, sister-in-law, Obiageli Oduocha, and numerous nephews and nieces.

Daddy, you are gone too soon but we know you are in God’s presence. -children

Sweetheart, I will miss you and I will always love you. - spouse

 

Funeral Arrangements Visitation: Thursday June 25th @ Ahlgrim’s Funeral Home

Funeral Mass: St. Matthew Catholic Church, Schaumburg Illinois

Internment: St Michael the Archangel Catholic Cemetery, Palatine Illinois