Charles Theodore Wilmes was born into eternal life on October 3, 2008, at 4:07 p.m. after an almost year-long battle with cancer. The eldest son of Theodore Joseph and Hazel Marie (Tilbury) Wilmes, Charles was born November 28, 1924, in Pond Creek, Oklahoma. A graduate of Kingfisher High School, he worked with the FBI in Detroit before going into the United States Marine Corp in 1942, where he served three years in Okinawa and Japan. After completing his military service, he attended OU, then graduated in 1951 with a degree in business from OSU. Employed for 30 years by Fidelity & Deposit of Maryland, Charles went on to become an insurance broker for Mitchell Brantley Insurance Agency and then Bradford Irwin Insurance. Charles spent his life in service to his fellowman. He was a member of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church since 1958, where he was a lecter & Eucharistic minister. He volunteered at the Northwest Food Pantry and he was also a mentor for the Oklahoma Literacy Council. He was a long-time member of the Warr Acres/Putnam City Kiwanis Club. He touched and positively impacted the lives of many people, both inside and outside of his family circle. His love of dancing was most evident from his many years of participation in both square and round dance clubs and the fact he danced up until only two months before his death. Charles also kept fit by running, participating in the Red Bud Classic & other local races. Charles married Lola Mae Tippit in 1956, and in 1960 they celebrated the arrival of the first of their three children. An awesome father, he looked at life through the eyes of a child, viewing all things, great or small, with a sense of excited wonder. Always ready to play, he nevertheless embraced the responsibility of fatherhood with considerable devotion. His children consider themselves to have been most blessed. Thanks Dad for all the bike rides and rainbow colored waffles. Preceded in death by his mother, father and brother Robert, Charles is survived by brother, Richard (Betsy) Wilmes and cousin, Barbara Calhoun. Also his beloved wife, Lola; daughters Carolyn Therese (David) Seelen; Denise Marie (Jim) Brinkworth; and son Mark Charles (Jennie) Wilmes, all of Oklahoma City. Grandchildren Lauren Marie Foree, Jared Perrault, Steven, Erin and Lindsey Brinkworth, Andrew and Jonathan Wilmes and great-granddaughter Kennedy Pierson. Numerous brothers- and sisters-in-law along with nieces and nephews will all keenly feel his loss. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society, any local food pantry or charity of choice. Services will be Monday, October 6, 10:00 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 5024 N. Grove, Warr Acres, with interment in Resurrection Cemetery.