Charles Roland Willingham

In Loving Memory of Charles Roland Willingham
September 25, 1934 – July 14, 2025

Charles Roland Willingham, ninety, of Rome, Georgia, passed peacefully on Monday, July 14, 2025. Born on a soft autumn day, September 25, 1934, in Rockmart, Georgia, Charles was the son of Stewart and Elma Dean Willingham, who both preceded him in death.

A man shaped by the old ways, steady, devoted, and deeply rooted, Charles lived a life that favored constancy over commotion. His was a quiet strength, lived out not in grand gestures, but in the daily fidelity to his family, his work, and his faith. He loved his family with a love that was unwavering, simple, enduring, and deeply felt.

On July 28, 1958, Charles wed his beloved Shirley Ellen Keys. Together they wove fifty-five and a half years of marriage into a life marked by patience, partnership, and shared purpose until Shirley’s passing. In the years that followed, Charles carried her memory with a quiet reverence that needed no explanation.
In addition to his parents and wife, Charles was preceded in death by his daughter, Leigh Ellen Willingham; his brother, Robert Anderson Willingham; and his sister, Joan Fay Boozer.

He leaves behind his sons, Charles Robert Willingham and Roy Eugen Willingham (Barbara); his granddaughters, Hannah Rae Darden (Sam), Courtney Morgan Willingham, and Lauren Adell Atkinson (Kyle); and his great-grandson, William Atkinson. His brother, Troy Willingham, along with several nieces and nephews, also remain to honor his memory.

Charles served his country honorably in the United States Navy from 1952 to 1956, a quiet sentinel during the years of the Korean War. He stood his post aboard the USS F.D. Roosevelt (CVA 42) and the USS Siboney (CVE-112), and later at the Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.

After his service, Charles returned home and took up work at Rome Hardware before finding a long and steady career with the United States Postal Service, where he labored faithfully until his retirement on December 2, 1989. In retirement, he savored life’s slower rhythms. He relished pending time with his grandchildren, watching the seasons pass, and appreciating the simple gifts of kinship and home.

A service to honor Charles' life will be held Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in the chapel of Good Shepherd Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM, followed by the funeral service at 12:00 PM, officiated by Pastor Randy Lambert of Riverside Baptist Church. Charles will be laid to rest beside his beloved at Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church in Cave Spring, Georgia.

Pallbearers, James Elliot, Tommy Powel, Kyle Atkinson, and Sam Darden, will accompany him on his final journey.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly invites friends and loved ones to donate to a charity of their choosing, in honor of Charles’ spirit of quiet generosity.

Good Shepherd Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

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