Former Wayland man Charles Antonio Robart died of cancer Dec. 1 at the age of 68.
Born Aug. 18, 1952, he was known as either Chuck or Charlie and sometimes Willie, because of his resemblance to Willie Nelson. He attended West Junior High in Lansing, but left high school early to go to work in the Sinclair Service Station his dad bought to “keep him out of trouble.”
When his dad became ill, he worked as a bartender at Grandpa and Grandma Robart’s bar in Wayland, a job he loved because he got to know people in a small town. He then did collision repair in the Lansing area for 30 years and after that he went to work for Shroyer’s Auto pulling parts for recycling for nearly 20 years.
Among his several passions, he and his wife Ruby, loved to travel. Top of his list of favorite places were Florida, especially Ft. Myers Beach, the western U.S. in particular, Wisdom, MT. He collected everything including American beer steins, miniature gas pumps, lighters, watches and everything pertaining to cars and trucks. He loved, loved, loved old trucks; his beloved 1953 shortbox Chevy and the “show truck”, a 1984 C10 shorty he did the restoration on.
Surviving are his wife, Wayland High School graduate Ruby Sooy Robart; son, Chad Robart, Sr; grandson, Chad Robart, Jr; granddaughters, Shaina (Francisco) Flores and Makayla Lehman; step-daughter, Ronda-Lynn (Mark) DenBesten; step-son, Robert Clark; step-granddaughter, Morgan (Brandon) Brink; step-grandson, Shaun DenBesten; great-grandchildren, Serenity, Kash, Kalila and Harmony; step-great-grandchildren, Thea and Beau; step-brother, Larry Krawczyk; step-sisters, Linda (Michael) Cunningham and Rose Gleason; brother-in-law, Ivan Mac (Paula) Sooy; sister-in-law, Ginger (Rodney) Bish; mother, Idella Miller Krawczyk.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Gaylord and Edith (Cooper) Robart.
