Charles (Charlie) Lee Penrod, 67, of Fort Worth, Texas, passed away on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, just 17 days shy of his 68 ^th birthday.

Graveside services will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 10 ^th at Crestview Memorial Park with his nephew, Joel Penrod, officiating.  Arrangements are under the direction of Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home.

A son of the late Virginia (Lack) and Elton Penrod, Charlie was born on July 24, 1953, in Wichita Falls, TX. He was a 1971 graduate of S.H. Rider High School.  He spent most of his life in Wichita Falls moving in 2016 to Dallas and then later to Fort Worth to be near family.  Unfortunately he developed Guillen-Barre Syndrome in 2005 and was later diagnosed in 2009 with CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy) a follow-on to GBS.

Charlie was known to everyone as a hard-working man.  Like so many of his generation, he began working at the age of 15.  His first job was at Funland Amusement Park and he became proficient in operating all the rides and machines.  His mechanical abilities led to jobs with Paul Schuerer Engineering helping construct Kirby Junior High, Allis-Chalmers, Ferguson-Veresh, the downtown YMCA, and apartment maintenance.  He finally settled on a career as facilities manager for Region IX Education Service Center until his health declined. He retired from Region IX in January 2014 after 33 years.

Charlie loved the outdoors and spent many hours camping, fishing, and going to Possum Kingdom lake with his adopted nieces Kathryn and Rebecca Ferguson, riding Sea-Doos and tubing.  He also had a passion for sports, especially Rangers baseball and Cowboys football.  He was a life long Cowboys fan and developed friendships with several like-minded fans who would travel as a group to games all over the country.  He even developed friends from England who would come to the States and travel with the group. For a number of years he acquired various guitars and guitar parts in anticipation of retiring and repairing guitars as a part-time vocation.  As his disease progressed he had to abandon his guitar dream.  One thing he loved was his 1999 Lincoln Town Car and the way it rode. He was truly sad when he had to give it up.

A devoted son, Charlie helped take care of the family farm and care for his elderly father.  The farm has many tall trees that Charlie grew from saplings.  He loved a project and was always willing to help a friend in need, expecting no more thanks than a cold beer at the end of the day.   He will be greatly missed by all that knew him and loved him.

Along with his parents, Charles was also preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Homer Lee and Myrtle Penrod, and his maternal grandparents, Charlie and Jody Lack.

He is survived by his brother, Kenneth Penrod, and his sister-in-law, Dee Penrod, of Fort Worth. He is also survived by his nephew, Joel Penrod and his wife, Veronica Penrod, of Granbury, TX, along with his great-nephews, Elijah Penrod and Noa Penrod, also of Granbury.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to GBS CIDP Foundation International [ Phone: (866) 224-3301, Web: gbs-cidp.org ]