Charles Padelford

CHARLES HAWKES PADELFORD

JULY 21, 1943- FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Charles (Charlie) has had a very full, fun-filled life. He graduated from Cal-Poly Pomona in Agricultural Business Management, was an Army Veteran, an Entrepreneur, a Santa Claus and an Orchid guru! He was born in Illinois but lived in Southern California for majority of his life. He relocated to Nevada 4 years prior to his death.

Early on, he knew that he had a love for animals, and he surrounded himself with them as often as possible. Before college he went to Preparatory High School located on a ranch in Arizona, followed by working on a couple of ranches after schooling. While stationed in Turkey with the Army, he rescued a dog that was being abused, and she became his faithful companion and came home to the states with him!

As life moved on, he moved into an entrepreneurial role running a successful interior design business. Although challenging, he became known for his acquired knowledge of everything needed for any sized space-products, colors, tools, specific applications etc. He continued to work in the home improvement business and became a "specialist of all things paint." With each situation different, he happily continued to successfully take on endless challenges!

He loved his plants, orchids in particular. He participated in orchid meetings, being a well-educated speaker at events, growing his own plants and cultivating an impressive collection of orchids.

While he may have been known to many as Charlie or Charles, he also had an alias, Santa! He made many children (and adults) smile with his light-hearted "Ho-Ho-Ho's". Children would pull on his hair or beard and to their surprise none of it came off! "Wow! He really IS Santa!" would be their reaction. He embodied Santa to the fullest, wearing his signature red shirt wherever he went!

He was a person who enjoyed people and welcomed the twists and turns on the road of life. He traveled down "Blue Note Way", enjoying Blues music, "Vehicle Way", exploring classic cars, and "Jewelry Way" putting his signature pieces together.

Charlie is survived by his daughter, Paula Menendez and son-in-law, Jose Menendez.