Charters Family Fund in Memory of Jeff Charters

My loving father Jeff Charters passed away in his home surrounded with love and only love in the early hours of February 12th, 2023.

A few people have been asking in what ways they could help / what they could send - and I’ll be honest. Money is what can help our family the most right now as we try to navigate the costs that come with my fathers death and easing the financial burden for my mother so she can focus on mourning and healing throughout this next chapter in life.

If you prefer to send money directly through Venmo rather than here, you can send to @Kim-Charters.

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Jeff Charters, my father, has suffered immensely the last 8 years or so. He was in Stage 4 Kidney Failure and getting routine testing done to prepare him for the donor list when they realized he had blockage in his 3 main coronary arteries. What started as a quick test turned into an emergency Triple Bypass open heart surgery and valve replacement. Through this surgery, his kidneys got worse and the waitlist was too long for a donor - his chances were slim. Thanks to the power of social media and a woman with a heart of gold, he lived as long as he did due to a live kidney donation in 2016. This kidney functioned incredibly well in his body until his final days.

Unfortunately on top of these huge hurdles, he was soon diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. This is where our lives changed for the worst and taking care of him was our main priority.

As time went on, he started losing his balance and strength. His muscles weakened and withered away, his eyesight too. He couldn’t work or drive anymore and he was the main income in the household.

2022 was by far the worst year for us. Due to medications he was on to keep his kidney from rejecting, he couldn’t fight infections. His body didn’t have much strength. He was battling a terrible ear and brain infection in total for almost 2 years. This included 4 different surgeries, 3 pic lines and heavy medications that took a toll on him.

In February, then came Bells Palsy. Half of his face was paralyzed. Each month he was weighing in less and less and losing more of his motor skills along the way.

He was in the hospital for many weeks and dropped to 145 lbs. He lost his ability to walk. His shakes were terrible and he couldn’t hold onto much.

He wasn’t able to be on his own and my mother had to put her job of 20+ years on the back burner and care for my father full time. She quit her job and was relying on social security checks to pay for the stacks of medical bills, hospital bills, and everyday expenses with their house and groceries to survive.

His nerve endings were exposed. His brain was sadly filled with brain lesions and he was having mini seizures towards the end of 2022.

He was put on in home hospice care and received a hospital bed for their home and all of the other works to make life a little easier.

On February 8th 2023, my mother was sleeping next to his hospital bed when she woke up to rattling in middle of the night. My father was having a very aggressive seizure. Hospice came immediately and informed us that we don’t know how much this seizure could impact him. For normal humans, it could take over a week. But my dad was very thin with no muscle left and has been fighting for many years.

The following Saturday I received the worst call of my life. Hospice had to break the news to my mother that my dad only had 24-48 hours left in his life - that he couldn’t fight anymore. His body was tired.

I bought the earliest flight to Michigan and got home as fast as I could. My father had passed during my flight. Hospice arrived as I laid in his hospital bed with him, draped across his chest and pronounced him dead on February 12th, 2023.

We are respecting his wishes and going forward with the cremation process.

We are heartbroken.

The world has suffered a major loss with my father.

To know Jeff Charters was truly to love Jeff Charters. He was the best husband, father, friend and neighbor you could ask for. The one who did everyone’s lawns until he couldn’t anymore.

He never once complained about this life or held a negative attitude through ALL of these battles.

He was simply the best.

Many people are asking how they can donate - what they could send - and helping with all of the expenses during this next chapter is honestly what we could use the most. Helping my mother financially and easing some of this stress as she quit her job to be my fathers caretaker and has many bills left to pay.

Anything is appreciated. Whether it is well wishes, prayers, good vibes, flowers, or monetary…..my family can’t thank all of you enough for all of the support over the years.

I cared very deeply for my father and would do anything I can to help him. My mother did everything in her power to care for him and make life easier and more enjoyable.

The love they share is pure and beautiful - a love that you can only hope to find.

He wanted my mother to be taken care of, and with this help and my brothers and I - we will make sure that happens.

Thank you for reading this and caring about him.

We’d love to hear memories shared with my dad. We want to celebrate his life.

That is what he would want.

❤️