Charles Joseph Womack

Charles Joseph Womack, 93, of Waynesville, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, March 20, 2025, after a brief illness.

Most knew him as Charlie. To his children he was Daddy and to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren he was Papa, and oh how they loved him. He was devoted to his family and church. Born on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1931, in Knoxville, he was the son of Ellen McGovern and Arthur Clarence “Ted” Womack. He grew up in Waynesville, mostly on Main Street, where his first job was setting up pins at the Pisgah Bowling Alley for 10 cents a game. He spent Saturday afternoons in the Park Theater watching serials and westerns and he continued to enjoy classic movies throughout his life. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Buck Jones, the Lone Ranger, Tarzan, and Flash Gordon were beloved companions. Oak Ridge, TN, was his home during World War II because his mother got work there and he loved it there. Returning to Waynesville in 1946, he played football under Coach C.E. Weatherby, who became like a father to him. In the 1948 season, he helped lead the team to a nearly undefeated season. The Mountaineers lost a single game but won the 1948 Paper Bowl that year. In his senior year, he was class president and captain of the football team which had an undefeated regular season, losing only the 1949 Paper Bowl. In his nineties, he could still throw a perfect spiral and run. His family will cherish the memories of hours spent passing football with him. It was also during high school that he met Norma Jean Winchester, and they began a courtship that lasted over 70 years. He graduated from Waynesville Township High School in 1950 and went on to attend Western Carolina College where he continued to play football. By special invitation from the President, he left school after two years for the US Army and served in West Germany. Afterward, he returned to Western and completed his bachelor’s degree. On March 22, 1957, he married Norma Jean and soon after he was appointed a state probation officer and then became a federal probation officer until retirement. He was a member of the Hazelwood Presbyterian Church where he professed faith and was baptized in 1959 and was later ordained as a deacon.

Preceded in death by his parents, his beloved Jean, and his sister Rose Christopher, he is survived by his daughter Lisa of Waynesville and sons Dan (Elizabeth) also of Waynesville and Patrick (Kathy) of Estero, FL, and his brother Freddy Muse (Barbara) of Waynesville. In addition, he has three beloved grandchildren, Joe (Faith), Ben, and Sarah as well as three great-grandsons, Winchester, Sutton, and Ethan.

The funeral service will be at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the Hazelwood Presbyterian Church in Waynesville with Pastors Patrick Womack, Joe Womack, and Steve Muzio officiating. A graveside service will follow at Green Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends prior to the service at the church beginning at 10:30 am. There will also be a reception at Laurel Ridge Country Club after the graveside service from 2:00 until 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Hazelwood Presbyterian Church, 368 Hazelwood Ave, Waynesville, NC 28786.

The care of Charlie has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Home of Waynesville