Mr. Charles Wesley "Charlie" Taylor, 64, of Elkhart, went home to be with his Lord on Saturday, December 12, 2020 at his residence He had been in ill health. He was born on July 31, 1956 in Sikeston, Missouri and was the son of the late Cephas William "Goodness" Clark and Ollie Bell (Causey) Taylor.

Among those who will cherish fond memories of Charlie are his daughters Shaunte Jordan Taylor and Lashanta Smith of Elkhart, his son Charles Jacoby Taylor of South Bend; sisters Ruth (Leonard) Bloch Wiley and Mary (The Rev. V. Wayne) Malone, both of Elkhart and Rita Davis and Maybelle Lacey, both of South Bend; his brother Mangle (Ann) Causey of Elkhart; grandsons ZeAunte Washington and Joseph Wiley and granddaughters Johnetta Higgins, Saraya Taylor and Jamiliah Smith, all of Elkhart; his Aunt Ruth Causey Mack of South Bend and a host of loving nieces, nephews, extended family and good friends. Charlie is also preceded in death by sisters Dorothy Taylor Powell and Chinese Taylor as well as brothers Robert Taylor III, Jimmie Clark, and Homer L. Taylor.

Charlie's homegoing service has been set for Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at 12:00 noon at the Agape Missionary Baptist Church, 248 W. Wolf Avenue in Elkhart. Viewing will begin there at 11:00 am. His brother-in-law, Pastor V. Wayne Malone of the Open Gate Praise and Deliverance Ministries of Elkhart, will be the guest officiant. In accordance with his wishes, cremation will follow the services. Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart are assisting the family with arrangements.

Charlie spent the majority of his life in the construction business, working as a carpenter or a foreman in the Michiana area for over 30 years. He had also worked for Con Rail for many years as well.

Besides his family, his two big loves in life were music and cooking. Charlie loved to listen to an eclectic collection of music and songs and loved to sing as well. (According to the family, he was pretty good, too!!) His cooking, however, was simply on another level. Charlie didn't have just one or two signature dishes; his overall culinary skills pretty much covered the spectrum and would have even impressed Gordon Ramsey. Needless to say that any event that featured Charlie's cooking was well attended.

We also mentioned that Charlie loved his family, which he did with the heart of a lion. To Charlie, nothing else in life possessed the importance of family, and he cherished each and every one of those moments. Additionally, he was also a devout Christian man, attending the Open Gate Praise and Deliverance Ministries, as well as being a devout fan if the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, where he and his daughter Shante would often be on the phone with each other during a game, bemoaning a bad play or call or cheering it up when that endzone "Hail Mary" pass was caught "in-bounds"!!

Donations made in Charlie's memory may be given to the family.  Thank you so much for your interest in Charlie's life story!