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Charles Guess Obituary

Charles "Bob" Guess
Chesterfield - Guess, Charles "Bob" Robert, a long-time resident of Chesterfield, Missouri, passed away peacefully while surrounded by family on December 11, 2025 at the age of 84.
Bob was born on November 14, 1941 to Ralph and Margaret Guess. He asked Annette (Lorton) Guess to be "His Valentine Forever" on February 14, 1964, and they were married on April 10, 1965. Together they worked side by side to provide a strong foundation and build a good life as they raised three daughters. They were married for over 60 years.
Bob was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and his family moved soon after to East Alton, Illinois, where he grew up. He graduated from East Alton Wood River Community High School in 1959. Next, Bob attended Southern Illinois University when their campus was located in Alton, Illinois, and was an Army reservist from 1960-1966.
Eventually, he attended and graduated from Ranken Trade School in 1963, where he studied electronics. After graduating from Ranken, he was hired by IBM as a Field Engineer. Bob retired from IBM after 41 years of gratifying employment. He traveled to England and Italy for special assignments and earned several company awards for design and service.
Bob met his wife Annette (Lorton) Guess in September of 1959. They dated for a while and then broke up, but Annette was determined. She knew they were meant to be. Bob often joked that if there were laws about stalking back then, "Annette might still be in jail." They reconnected in the Spring of 1963 and were married in 1965. A love story that lasted well over 60 years. Bob and Annette had three lovely daughters. As a family they loved to camp and travel to state parks. They enjoyed traveling to Florida for beaches and Disney World, Colorado for skiing, the East Coast, and out West. As a couple they continued to travel throughout their married lives in the US, to Mexico, and through Europe.
Bob could fix whatever was broken, enjoyed working on cars, could build almost anything, and was a gifted artist. He was a "jack of all trades", and in everything he was self-taught. Bob was a good man from a simpler time who loved simple pleasures. He was a man of few words and a little rough around the edges, but behind the scenes he was kind and sentimental. At all times, he got a real kick out of joking around with people and being silly. If you ever asked him what his last name was when you met him...you know what we mean. Forever a kid at heart, he enjoyed life to the fullest. Most importantly, Bob loved his family with everything he had, and we look forward with great joy to the day we will see him again.
Bob is survived by his loving wife, Annette (Lorton) Guess; three children, Krista (Danny) Marcotte, Kariann Wineland, Kate (Scott) Myers; eight grandchildren, Sarah (Lucas) Nelson, Joshua (Lillian) Marcotte, Emma (Sam) Kwasny, Rebekah Marcotte, Jessica Marcotte, Charles Wineland, Clara Wineland, Megan Myers; two great-grandchildren, Anna Nelson, Eleanor Nelson; extended family and dear friends.
He is preceded in death by his father Ralph Guess and his mother Lydia "Margaret" (Miller) Guess.
Bob was a dear husband, a great father, an excellent Paw Paw, and a fun friend. His love of family, simple pleasures, enjoyment of life, strength through difficulty, strong work ethic, desire to do things well, and value of faith will live on in those that knew him.
A celebration of Bob's life will be held at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church located at 1230 Big Bend Road, Ballwin, MO 63021 on January 10, 2026. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m., and a Memorial Service with military honors will follow at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in honor of Bob may be made to Providence Academy. If you have any memories, pictures, or condolences; please pass them along to the family.
As a service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Telegraph on Jan. 6, 2026.

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Memorial Events
for Charles Guess

Jan

10

Visitation

9:30 a.m.

Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church

1230 Big Bend Road, Ballwin, MO

Jan

10

Memorial service

11:00 a.m.

Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church

1230 Big Bend Road, Ballwin, MO

Funeral services provided by:

Schrader Funeral Home and Crematory - Ballwin

14960 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO 63011

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