Charles Bernard Fernandez

Charles Bernard Ferndez was born to Carmen Landrau and Abel Oscar Fernandez in Manhattan New York on December 9th, 1969. He was raised in the Bronx along with his siblings, Cynthia, Abel and George. He would always talk about how much fun he had with them and his family. Charles was known to be an avid basketball player. He would often be found playing basketball at the courts in front of his apartment and he was good at it. His passion for playing continued even after moving to Florida. He would show off his moves to the ladies. During his childhood he was known to just live a carefree life. He grew up so quickly that his mother was always running him to the hospital for some broken bone or another. However, Charles was inpatient, and he told a story about the day he took his own cast off so that he could go back to playing basketball with his friends. Right after graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, he began working as a construction laborer. He worked as a laborer for many years. After he left construction work, he worked at Nordstrom's in White Plains,, New York. Charles worked as a stockperson and quickly received more and more responsibility because of his hard work, reliability and dedication to his job. In December of 1999, Charles met Mercedes, a young woman from the gift gallery department. In August of 2000. Charles decided to move to Florida and continue to run the stock department at Nordstrom's in the city of Boca Raton. His first apartment was a three-bedroom apartment shared with 2 other co-workers but soon found his own place with his then girlfriend Mercedes. A few years later Charles life would change when he learned that Mercedes was pregnant. From the beginning, he was a loving father. He would cook for his tired wife and took on being the sole provider so that she could stay at home during most of her pregnancy and up until his son was one year old. He was so happy to be a father that he would dance for his wife singing Backstreet Boys songs just to make her laugh. On January 3rd, 2005, Charles Jr was born. Charles loved his son, and he would always take a lunch break at 11 am in order to get home and lay his son on his chest because that was the only way his son would take a nap and give mom a break. His son was his joy and changed Charles. The responsibility of being a father made him a better man and dedicated father. Charles spent time with his son by taking him on adventures at Jungle Island, going to the park and watching some shows such as the Circus and Disney on Ice. His son was everything to Charles and he gave his son everything he wanted. On July 7th, 2007, Charles and Mercedes were married. They were married in a local park by their friend Shermaine and surrounded by family and friends. The wedding was a simple affair with good food and dancing. Charles's daughter, Isabella Charlene was born on December 27th, 2011, and he fell in love with his little girl. Isabella made Charles a more nurturing person. Like with his son, Charles would take daily naps with Isabella, and he began a ritual of feeding her dinner on his lap. As the years went on, Charles' health started to deteriorate. He suffered from gout, psoriatic arthritis both of which brought him much pain. With time the pain would be so unbearable that he missed work therefore in October of 2013, Charles stopped working. He moved with his family from Boca Raton to Brooksville Florida and started a new life. Charles loved living in Brooksville because it was a quiet town, and he preferred the country type living over the city. Although he was raised in the city of the Bronx, he preferred the country. His life was slowing down, and he liked it that way. Charles spent his days being a stay-at-home dad and he was good at it. The children enjoyed having dad at home and Charles began his love of cooking. Charles favorite meal always consisted of using the grill. He was known for his delicious steaks and his rice always came out perfectly unlike his wife, her rice never came out right. Charles enjoyed his life at home with his family. During his last few years at home, his pain increased, and he found it harder to move. He would do his best to continue cooking up until standing was difficult and painful on his knees. Charles suffered in pain for many years, but he always tried his best to not show it. He was there at his son's graduation from High School and was always the one to pick up and drop off Isabella from school. Charles was a wonderful and loyal friend. He was the life at the party, making people laugh and the loudest of the group. He loved playing a good game of Spades, heated the beach but loved the pool and spending time at home was what he preferred during the last 10 years. Charles had a good life, he loved and lived to the fullest. He had a heart of gold, would give his shirt off his back if you needed it. In fact, he did get into an argument with his wife once because he brought a homeless man home to bathe and give him clothes and food. Mercedes didn't trust this man, but Charles saw something in him and developed a friendship with this man that just missed one paycheck and that made him homeless. Because of Charles' help, the gentleman was all cleaned up and Charles helped him find a job, changing his life forever. Charles was an excellent neighbor too no matter where he lived at. He enjoyed making new friends therefore it was easy for him to develop relationships with his neighbors. He would always hang out with neighbors hosting dinners because Charles enjoyed bragging about his grilling skills and enjoyed company. Charles did not just host gatherings with neighbors, he even hosted and planned his wife's baby shower. He was so happy that she was pregnant that he made sure to give her an excellent shower for both pregnancies. This also shows how excited he was to be a father. Charles was a true friend, always there to lend a hand when needed and cared deeply about family. Charles was very loved, and his sudden passing was unexpected. He is dearly missed. He is now on no more pain and is playing basketball in heaven but also watching over his loved ones.