Charles L. "Chuck" Toews

Charles Leslie Toews was born on February 21, 1935 in Angwin, California. He was the 3rd of 5 children had by his parents Alwin L. and Phosa Mae (Butterfield) Toews. When he was a small boy they moved to La Sierra California where he was raised. Charles, known as "Chuck" took on his first job at age 5 and never stopped working until his body quit him the week before he passed on April 8, 2025.
Chuck loved to work. He loved to sing and listen to gospel music and go to church. He enjoyed meals made by Wanda. He loved to tell stories about how things should be done right and examples of how things went wrong and he'd either laugh or be perplexed of things he could not control. He liked to work on cars and airplanes. He enjoyed his friends that he would work with on jobs. He liked visiting his siblings over the years.
He liked laughing with his brother Ed from Minnesota about stories from their youth. Each time they'd get together they would tell the same stories and laugh hard with tears in their eyes every time
While growing up he helped make $ to put his younger siblings through Christian education. And then later he put his own 4 children through Christian education. All the way through college. He was very proud of this and believed Christian education to be the only way to go No matter what the cost.
He met Wanda Shewmake when they were in the 4th grade and they began to date in the 7th grade and married when they were 19 & 20 years old. Wanda helped Chuck get through high school and then through life. She stood beside him and was his greatest fan, believer and supporter no matter what she never doubted his abilities to take care of anything that came and he was lost without her when she passed just about 11 months before him on May 19, 2024.
In their marriage they had 4 children Ted, Terry, Jerry and Lisa. He worked at the La Sierra college and Pine Springs Ranch. He built an apartment complex and ran it.
He did many jobs around these things to give a good life of comforts and opportunities to his family that he himself did not grow up having
In 1975 the whole family moved to begin a new "country" life in rural Oklahoma? (None of the 4 children ever really understood why they made this drastic change?) Chuck found Oklahoma to not be what he dreamed life to be? He wanted to return to California but Wanda wouldn't hear of it. So to make a living he became a licensed plumber and built homes around the Grand Lake area None of this was easy but he worked hard 6 days a week for his whole life.
Chuck and Wanda's children later gave them 11 grand children: Leslie, Charlie, Brad, Audrey, Fletcher, Luke, Henry, Nick, Lily Star, Samuel and Roubaix Sky. (Who have so far given them 11 great grandchildren.)
He would almost always end his conversations with making sure everyone knew to be ready for Jesus to come and take us all to be with him and our loved ones in heaven.
He had many opinions and not much room for any others.
A fundamental belief of his was "If you want a job done right you should do it yourself" which didn't allow him for much time to rest. He loved and felt things more than he knew how to properly show His voice and words of wisdom and insight (some right and some that at least made you think and decide for yourself ) will be thought of and referred to often
He is loved and will be missed by many His ability to fix about anything will not be found in the generations left behind him he was strong in many ways and in some
places weaker than anyone could see from the outside. He never knew his value or the power of his words. He didn't know how to hear sometimes but he loved and felt things deeper than most people ever knew or could believe by what they heard and saw of him.
He required all of his children to go to college because he didn't get to and he knew how hard life can be without that opportunity. He wanted to give his kids every chance he could to better themselves and not have to work as hard as he did. He loved his children very much.
He was not a delegator but he was a strong doer. He would help anyone he could in any way he could. He did not die a wealthy man but he died giving everything he had to someone he thought needed it more than he did whether he was right or not about the "needs" of people he did that every day of his life because that is what he believed he should do -is give it all away
We love you and will see you again soon Dad/Chuck/husband/Grandpa/brother/friend/uncle/cousin/son/helper
Rest in the peace of Jesus
Online condolences may be made at www.highsmithfh.com or on the funeral home Facebook page. Arrangements are in the care of the Burckhalter-Highsmith Funeral and Cremation Care of Vinita. "Vinita's only locally owned and operated funeral home."