Charles Thomas Davenport, age 92 of Hersey, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at his residence.

He was born June 24, 1932, on Mackinac Island, was raised on the island, and was a 1950 graduate of St. Ignace Public High School.  He attended St. Norbert’s Catholic College in Green Bay, WI and graduated in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in education.  On June 6, 1959, he was married at the St. Anne Catholic Church on Mackinac Island to Wanda Ruppert who survives him.

He was employed as a High School Biology teacher until 1966 when Charles and Wanda moved to the Grand Rapids area.  After the move, Charles became employed with Aquinas College for a few years where he worked in the Maintenance Department. In 1968 he took a job with the Kent County Health Department where he worked until his retirement in 1995 when he moved the family to the Hersey area.

Charles was a trained musician, including the clarinet and the violin.  Once, as a youth, he played his fiddle during a square dance on Mackinac Island for the Governor of Michigan, G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams; and later he was honored to be a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony.

He is survived by his wife Wanda; 5 children; 13 grandchildren; and 9 great grandchildren.  Charles was preceded in death by his parents; his brother and sister; and his son Patrick.

A memorial mass will take place at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, January 4, 2025, at the St. Philip-Neri Catholic Church in Reed City with a luncheon to follow.  He will be laid to rest at the Chapel Hill Cemetery in Grand Rapids at a later date.