Charles William Seidler, 70, of Freeport, passed away on December 13, 2020 in Freeport, Texas.

Charlie was born in Freeport, Texas to Charles Oscar Seidler and Jeanette Hodgson Seidler on January 20, 1950. He graduated from Brazosport High School in 1969 and while he worked many jobs over the years, including 20 years at Gulf Chemical & Metallurgical Company, Charlie's true calling was as a volunteer firefighter for 25 years.

A firebug from the start, little Charlie was known to start a fire under the porch of the family home, and even in the alley behind the shed, which was swiftly reported to the fire department and worse, his mother. When the adults arrived on scene, little Charlie had the fire well under control with the garden hose, and his fate as a firefighter was sealed. His fellow firefighters remember Charlie as a guy ready to work and uninterested in glory. He was an avid hunter and it is entirely possible that he loved hunting so much because it afforded him an opportunity to retell his old stories to whatever friend with whom he was in the pasture.

Charlie wasn't much of a reader, unless it was a gun magazine or his bible. He preferred to take the backroads wherever he went, refused to evacuate during hurricanes, ate whatever you put in front of him (usually with a layer of pepper), and joked that the only way he could hold an intelligent conversation was by talking to himself, which everyone knows was soft-spoken mumbling. Charlie only ever wore western pearl-snap shirts, denim jeans, cowboy boots, and a baseball hat. As a young man, he'd sit and drink coffee at Raspberry's, sketching on napkins when there was no one available with whom to chat. In his later years, if he didn't pick up any one of the thirteen or more cellphones he went through, you could always find him watching the traffic pass by at Red Top.

Charlie was a flawed man, and like us all, carried a balance of mistakes and victories. His life was a lesson. In failing and trying again, in forgiveness and faith. Charlie's belief in the absolution of his God afforded him the peace and dignity to face his mortality. Unafraid of death, each birthday past the age his own father died he counted as extra, grateful for more than he felt was owed to him. Knowing time was short, his last prayers were about his family. "Lord, if it's my time, then I'm ready. Take me tomorrow. Not today, but tomorrow."

Sometimes grief is so hard because we mourn the chance to say or redo or confront the moments that have affected us so greatly with the people that mean so much to us. In the shadow of our loss of Charlie, this moment from a television show resonated: "So what if he screwed up? So what if he was a coward for more years than he was a hero? In the end, he got it right." By imperfect example, he taught us that small steps forward might make the journey longer, but they still take us in the right direction.

Charles is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Phyllis Ann and her husband Billy McCoy.

Charles is survived by his children: Charles (Victoria) Seidler of Angleton, Stacie (Leon Faulkner) Seidler of West Columbia, Michael (Emily) Henley of Houston, William (Melissa) Henley of Clute, Anna Prochazka of Freeport, and Sarah Butler of Jacksonville, NC; 11 grandchildren: Charles Klint, Leynie, and Elyjah Seidler, Avery Faulkner, David Henley, Zoe Garza and Ezekiel Henley, Benjamin, Vera, and Eleanor Brown, and Phoenix Butler; and many extended family and friends.

A celebration of life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 9, 2021 with Fred Ortiz of New Beginnings Community Church, officiating.

Memorial contributions in Charlie's honor may be made to the Freeport Fire and EMS Association.

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